Brain scans predict buying behavior

Neuroscientists report that they can use brain scans to predict whether someone looking at a product will actually buy it or not. Dr. Brian Knuston and his colleagues at Stanford University put images of 40 objects in front of 26 subjects undergoing brain fMRIs. By analyzing which parts of the brain light up, the scientists were able to forecast what the subject's decision would be before he or she vocalized it. According to the scientific paper they published in the current issue of the scientific journal Neuron product preference activated the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), while excessive prices activated the insula and deactivated the mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) prior to the purchase decision." From Reuters:

In an interview with Reuters Health, Knutson said the mechanism his team identified underlies every decision we make, from deciding what to have for lunch to whether to buy a certain stock or bond.

"We think it does generalize to other decisions simply because the brain regions we are investigating are ancient," he said. "It's likely that these mechanisms are there for reasons related to perhaps survival."

The investigators are planning to investigate brain activity in people with a more "pathological" relationship to shopping, for example "people who seem insensitive to prices or maybe are too sensitive to attractive items," he said.

Link to Reuters article, Link to Neuron paper abstract

Previously on BB:
• Reading minds with fMRI Link
• Neuromarketing soda Link
• Neuroscience of branding Link
• This is your brain on Super Bowl ads: research conclusion Link