Brain scans showed that Botox injected into the forehead altered people’s brain chemistry, impacting how they interpreted other people’s emotions, a new study published in Scientific Reports found.

Botox is an injectable that temporarily reduces or eliminates facial fine lines and wrinkles and is popularly used to reduce the appearance of frown lines, forehead creases and crow’s feet near the eyes. //

As more and more people across the country continue to schedule appointments to get Botox, researchers questioned how the temporary paralysis of the facial muscles that results from the treatment impacts a person’s ability to interpret emotions. //

Botox was found to hinder the facial feedback hypothesis, which claims that people instinctively mirror facial expressions in an effort to identify and experience the emotion being expressed in front of them.