Botox Influences the Control of Emotions in the Brain for Those with Borderline Personality Disorder - Neuroscience News

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Summary: Botulinum toxin, or Botox, can help dampen negative emotions for those suffering from borderline personality disorder.

The bacterial toxin botulinum toxin (BTX)—colloquially known as Botox—is probably known to most people as a remedy for wrinkles.

It also dampens negative emotions in people with borderline personality disorder, who suffer from extreme mood swings.

When botulinum toxin is injected into the glabellar region, it paralyzes these muscles between the eyebrows.

By interrupting the feedback loop between the forehead muscles and the brain, botulinum toxin also changes the emotional feedback.

The researchers were able to prove this in the brains of borderline patients who had been treated with a botulinum toxin injection in the glabellar region.

“We were able to see that botulinum toxin curbs the emotional constant fire in the tonsil nucleus, which accompanies the high-grade inner tension of the affected persons,” says the psychiatrist.

However, the feedback between muscles and brain does not only work in the glabellar region.

“Neuronal effects of glabellar botulinum toxin injections using a valenced inhibition task in borderline personality disorder” by Tillmann H.

Neuronal effects of glabellar botulinum toxin injections using a valenced inhibition task in borderline personality disorder.

Previous studies have indicated that glabellar botulinum toxin (BTX) injections may lead to a sustained alleviation of depression.

Accordingly, glabellar BTX injection can attenuate amygdala activity in response to emotional stimuli.

A prototypic condition with an excess of negative emotionality and impulsivity accompanied by elevated amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli is borderline personality disorder (BPD).

In order to improve the understanding of how glabellar BTX may affect the processing of emotional stimuli and impulsivity, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study.

Our hypotheses were (1) glabellar BTX leads to increased activation in prefrontal areas during inhibition performance and (2) BTX decreases amygdala activity during the processing of emotional stimuli in general.

This study provides the first evidence that glabellar BTX injections may modify central neurobiological and behavioural aspects of BPD