Botox: More than skin deep?

A new study out of Barnard College in New York shows that the wrinkle-buster Botox not only diminishes your ability to express emotion (a serious problem for actors),  it could also decrease your ability to feel emotions as well. The research finds that an emotional experience may be part of a feedback loop, where facial expressions provide feedback to the brain, which in turn influences emotion.

Joshua Davis, study co-author and psychology professor, explains to LiveScience:

“With Botox, a person can respond otherwise normally to an emotional event, [such as] a sad movie scene, but will have less movement in the facial muscles that have been injected, and therefore less feedback to the brain about such facial expressivity.”

The research team showed participants emotional video clips before and after they were injected with either Botox or Restylane. The latter was used as the control since it does not limit muscle movement.

In comparison to those who received Restylane, participants that had Botox showed a significant decrease in the intensity of their emotional experience, LiveScience reports. The study also found that the Botox group did not respond as strongly to mildly positive clips after they had been injected.

The study is published in the June issue of the journal Emotion.

Survey finds a broken heart may cause men more pain than women

A new survey of  1,611 unmarried men and women (ages 18 to 23), conducted by Wake Forest University and Florida University, finds that men suffer more emotional heartbreak after a split than women.  The Telegraph reports that young men experience identity issues and feelings of low self-worth post-break up.

One reason men may go through more emotional pain is their lack of close social relationships. Sociology processor Melanie Bartley from University College London tells the Telegraph that relationships between young men tend to be more competitive than supportive. Women often have a wider network of relationships they can rely on during difficult times.

The survey also found that men and women express their grief in different ways. Women are more likely to discuss their emotions with friends and family, while men are more inclined to turn to substances, such as drugs and alcohol.

WebMD reports these findings:

The harmful stress of a roller-coaster relationship is more likely to affect the mental health of young men than young women.

A recent breakup from a romantic relationship affects the mental health of young women more than young men.

Young women are more emotionally affected than their romantic partners when it comes to being in a relationship or not. Young men, on the other hand, are more affected emotionally by the quality of their current relationships.

This study is published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

TV Dinners

Just how unhealthy is a diet based solely on television advertisements? The research finds that if you make food choices on TV commercials alone, you would consume 25 times the recommended daily servings for sugar and exceed the recommended serving of fat by 20 times. Advertisements also had less than half of the recommended amounts of vegetables, dairy, and fruits.

Time reports that in addition to promoting these unhealthy foods, the ads also steer people away from foods that contain necessary vitamins and nutrients. The study found that 775 foods advertised contained insufficient amounts of twelve essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium, fiber and vitamin D.

The study, led by Armstrong Atlantic State University professor Michael Mink, PhD, involved observing food advertisements that were broadcast throughout 84 hours of prime time television in 2004. The research team also watched 12 hours of Saturday morning children’s programming. Each commercial was analyzed for nutritional value and portion sizes were converted to the correct number of servings.

According to WebMD, a person making their food decisions based on television commercials would receive:

2,560% of the recommended daily servings of sugar

2,080% of the recommended daily servings for fat

40% of the recommended daily servings of veggies

32% of daily dairy requirements

27% of their daily requirements for fruit

Time also reports that even though many restaurants and companies have worked to introduce healthier items, these do not usually appear in their advertisements.

This study is published in the June issue of Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Vital Statistics

How accurate is Wikipedia?

New research out of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University has found that Wikipedia’s information on cancer is considerably accurate. The center analyzed Wikipedia’s content on ten different types of cancer and compared it to the information provided by the National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query, a professional database that is peer reviewed and edited. The site was also compared to information provided by textbooks.

The study found that Wikipedia’s information was solid and reliable, especially when it came to the key points. Only two percent of the information did not match up to textbooks. However, the information was also determined to be very dense and written at a high level of complexity, making it more difficult to read and comprehend.

A new study says midnight snacking may damage teeth

New research conducted by the University of Copenhagen has found that midnight snacking is associated with a greater risk of tooth loss. The main cause is the change in the flow of saliva, which decreases at night. Saliva is essential in removing food particles from the mouth.

Out of the 2,217 participants, 8 percent were classified as nocturnal eaters. Over a period of six years, these nocturnal eaters ended up losing more teeth, even after controlling for other significant factors, such as age, smoking, and sugar consumption.

Coffee drinkers immune to caffeine?

Researchers out of Bristol University in England have found that caffeine drinkers develop a tolerance to its stimulating effects. The findings indicate that even though coffee drinkers may feel more alert after their morning dose of caffeine, the beverage only brings caffeine addicts back to the baseline level of alertness, rather than allowing them to exceed it.

Those young and in love may be less prone to substance abuse

New research shows that young adults in romantic relationships are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, the LA Times reports. The study consisted of 909 participants, followed from first grade through the age of 19 or 20. Those not in a stable relationship at this age were about 40 percent more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than those who were in a stable relationship, even when controlling for other factors that affect substance abuse.

The researchers believe that perhaps young people in relationships are spending less time with friends who may have substance abuse problems. Another thought is that those in a relationship receive support from their significant other that helps them avoid destructive behavior.