ReviewJournal of cosmetic dermatology2020
"Masking" our emotions: Botulinum toxin, facial expression, and well-being in the age of COVID-19.
Review in Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Face Processing in Early Development: A Systematic Review of Behavioral Studies and Considerations in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- A Psychological Guide to Upper Face Botulinum Toxin Injections: Baseline Emotional Functions of Facial Expressions.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Review
- The Face of Emotion: Botulinum Toxin, Emotional Anatomy, and Mood Modulation.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Review
- Impact of Mask-Wearing on Public Attitudes, Perceptions, and Interest in Rhinoplasty During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- Accuracy and Speed of Emotion Recognition With Face Masks.Europe's journal of psychology · 2024Article
- Efficacy and Safety Analysis of Botox Application and Iatrogenic Botulism: Panacea or Peril?Current pharmaceutical design · 2024Review
- Understanding burnout in Pediatric residency through the lens of the 'Areas of worklife'.Medical education online · 2023Article
- Drift-diffusion modeling reveals that masked faces are preconceived as unfriendly.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Botulinum Toxin in Facial Aesthetics Affects the Emotion Process: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Review
- Article
- Are Face Masks a Problem for Emotion Recognition? Not When the Whole Body Is Visible.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Wearing the face mask affects our social attention over space.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Face Masks Do Not Alter Gaze Cueing of Attention: Evidence From the COVID-19 Pandemic.i-Perception · 2021Article
- Altered immunoemotional regulatory system in COVID-19: From the origins to opportunities.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2021Review
- Corrigendum.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2021Article
- The impact of facemasks on emotion recognition, trust attribution and re-identification.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- The consequences of COVID-19 on social interactions: an online study on face covering.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Article
- Trustworthiness appraisals of faces wearing a surgical mask during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany: An experimental study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Coronavirus Disease-19 and Rhinology/Facial Plastics.Otolaryngologic clinics of North America · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedCorrigendum.2021
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe globally devastating effects of COVID-19 breach not only the realm of public health, but of psychosocial interaction and communication as well, particularly with the advent of mask-wearing.
methodsA review of the literature and understanding of facial anatomy and expressions as well as the effect of botulinum toxin on emotions and nonverbal communication.
resultsToday, the mask has become a semi-permanent accessory to the face, blocking our ability to express and perceive each other's facial expressions by dividing it into a visible top half and invisible bottom half. This significantly restricts our ability to accurately interpret emotions based on facial expressions and strengthens our perceptions of negative emotions produced by frowning. The addition of botulinum toxin (BTX)-induced facial muscle paralysis to target the muscles of the top (visible) half of the face, especially the corrugator and procerus muscles, may act as a therapeutic solution by its suppression of glabellar lines and our ability to frown. The treatment of the glabella complex not only has been shown to inhibit the negative emotions of the treated individual but also can reduce the negative emotions in those who come in contact with the treated individual.
conclusionsMask-wearing in the wake of COVID-19 brings new challenges to our ability to communicate and perceive emotion through full facial expression, our most effective and universally shared form of communication, and BTX may offer a positive solution to decrease negative emotions and promote well-being for both the mask-wearer and all who come in contact with that individual.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.