Neuromarketing-hype-or-hope.pdf

WorldwideReadershipResearchSymposium2005

Session2.8

NEUROMARKETING-HYPEORHOPE?

Arethererelevantconsequencesofthelatestresultsofneurosciences

formediaresearch?

RolfPfleiderer,TNSInfratestMediaResearch

ElevenleadingGermanneuro-scientistsintroducetheirremarkable"ManifestaboutthePresenceandtheFutureofBrain

Sciences" 1) withthewords: "Consideringtheenormousprogressofbrainsciencesinthelastyearstheimpressionmayarisethat

ourresearchisclosetosnatchitsfinalmysteriesfromthebrain."

Inthemediayoucanfindalotofreportswhichfeedthisimpression.Andmorespecificallyyoualsocanfindsomemarket

researcherspraisingthesuperiorityofneuro-economicapproachesandmethods 2) overtraditionalones.

Thesubjectofthispaperistogiveanoverviewoftheactualstateofneuromarketingresearchandtodiscusssomepotential

consequencesformediaresearch.Thiscannotbeanexhaustiveorevencompleteoverviewbecausetherespectiveliteratureis

alreadyverycomprehensiveandreferringtoseveralscientificdisciplines(neurophysiology,biochemistry,psychology,business

economics,statistics,tonameonlysomeofthem).SoI'llgiveasubjectivepicturefromamediaresearcher'sperspectiveand

ratherformulatesomehypothesesthandrawscientific"conclusions".FirstofallI'llgivearoughimpressionofhowourbrain

workstakingasanexamplethesituation"youseeanadinamagazine".Afterthatthemostrelevantresearchtechniques(or

better-tools)inneurosciencesarebrieflypresented,followedbysomeexamplesandresultsofthiskindofresearchprojects.

FinallyI'lldealwithpotentialconsequencesofthefindingofneurosciencesformediaresearch.

Howcomestheadinyourmind?

Imagineyou"readorlookinto"amagazine.Andyouseeanad(e.g.for"JackDaniel's").RenéDescartes(1596-1650)thought

thatwhatyouseeisfocusedbyyoureyesandtherespectivepictureis"received"bytheretina,transformedtosignalswhichare

passedontothepinealgland.Therethephysicalsignal-a"resextensa"-ischangedintoa"rescogitans":theideaofwhatyour

eyescaught.Resextensaarephysical,divisible,destroyable-rescogitansarenot.Theyaretwocompletelyseparated

"substantiae"whichinteractinthepinealglandinamysteriousprocesscreatedbygod.

Left:DrawingofDescartes;right:Contemporaryad-work

Asfarasthat-Isuppose-thebroadmajorityofpeoplewillfollowDescarteseventoday,perhapswiththemodificationthat

"pinealgland"hastobesubstitutedby"ourbrain".Notonlyneuro-scientistshavecontributed(inthelast400years)toa

differentandfarmoredevelopedunderstandingwhat'sgoingoninourbrainlookingatamagazinepagewithanad.Wefor

exampledoknowthatthehumaneye-moreexactly:twodifferentkindsofspecializedcellsoftheretina-cantransform

electromagneticwavesintherangeofca.380to780nanometerintoneuronalactivity(tomakeaverycomplexprocessvery

simple)."Rods"and"cones"areonlythefirstofatleast4kindsofneuronsinvolvedonthewaybetweentheretinaandthe

visualcortexintheoccipitallobeofthebrainviathethalamus,theprimaryprocessorofvisualinformation.

Fromnowonthingsgetverycomplexandcomplicated.Youhavetoconsiderthatitisnotlikeonesnapshotwithacamera,how

you"see"theadismorelikeafilm,acontinuum.Butthisisalreadythe"finalversion"whichhasbeencarefullyprocessedand

"designed"byyourbrain. Inrealityyoureyesfixdifferentpointsandregionswithafrequencyof2to5fixationsandsaccades

Session2.8 WorldwideReadershipResearchSymposium2005

persecond,theeyesdeliverslightlydifferent"pictures"toyourbrainwhichhavetobe"interpreted"insomeway.Andsoonand

soforth.Evenmoreimportant:YourbrainisnotimpatientlywaitingforthevisualinformationabouttheJackDaniel'sadbutit

isworkingcontinuously.Aslongasyouholdyoureyesopenthereisalwaysrespectiveinformationprocessedtoyourvisual

cortexareas(andevenifyoucloseyoureyes-forexampleinasupermarketwhen"thinking"forasecondwhichbrandof

whiskeyyouwanttobuy-theactivityofthevisualcortexareasisnotzerobutthousandsofneurons"fire"andare"active"…

butthisisastorynottobetoldatthisplace).

The"visualcortex" 3) canbeseparatedinthe"primaryvisualcortex"(V1)andthesocalled"visualassociationareas"(V2,V3,

V4,V5);alltheseareasagaincanbedifferentiatedintoapproximately30interconnectedvisualareas.Thefirstcorticalvisual

area,theonethatreceivesinformationdirectlyfromtheretina(relayedbythelateralgeniculatenucleusofthethalamus)

transmitsinformationtotwoprimarypathways,calledtheventralstreamandthedorsalstream.Theventralstreamconsistsof

severalvisualareas(V1,V2,V4,areasoftheinferiortemporalcortex).Eachofthemcontainsmillionsofneuronswhose

respectivefieldstogetherrepresenttheentirevisualfield.Theventralstreamisassociatedwithobjectrecognitionandform

representation.Itisalsoassociatedwiththestorageoflong-termmemoryandhasstrong(neural)connectionstothelimbic

system(whichcontrols/moderatesemotions).Inaddition:Alltheareasintheventralstreamare(moreorlessreciprocally)

connectedwitheachotheraswellaswithotherareasofthecortex(i.e.forexamplethesomato-sensoriccortex,theauditory

cortex,thesocalledlimbiccortexareas),andalsowithotherstructuresinthecenterofthebrain.Andtheventralstreamis

strongly(reciprocally)connectedtothedorsalstream.

Thedorsalstream(V1,V3,V5…)isinvolvedinspatialawarenessandguidanceofactions(e.g.reaching-perhapstothe

whiskeyintheshelf?).Wikipediaactuallydescribesthefunctionofthedorsalstreamby"ithastwodifferentfunctional

characteristics-itcontainsadetailedmapofthevisualfield,andisalsogoodatdetectingandanalyzingmovements".The

dorsalstreamisliketheventralstreamconnectedtotheothercortexregionsandtoothersubcorticalbrainstructures.

Alltheareasinthevisualcortex-aswellasalltheothercortexregions-areinfluencedbyfactorsasattention,actualactivities

intheworkingmemory,bythestimulussalienceetc.Andlastbutnotleasttheyareinfluencedbyprojectionsof"deeper"(older)

brainstructureswhichoftenarecalledvaluesystems(dopaminergicsystem,cholinergicsystem,noradrenergicsystem,etc.).

Regardingonlyakindof"snapshot"ofneuralactivitieswhilelookingintoamagazinewecanresumethatmillionsofneurons

areinvolvedintheprocess,numerousdifferentfunctionalareasinyourbrain,andthisdynamic"network"ischangingand

developinginfractionsofasecond.Intheverysameinstanttheothersensesalsoarereceivinginformationandchargeyour

brainwiththeirinput.Youhearthehammeringmusicfromyourboy'sroom,yousmellwhatinthekitchenispreparedforthe

hopefullyspeedydinner(youfeelhungry),andyoumaythinkofthenotyetfinishedcontributionforthenextreadership

symposium.Alltheseperceptionsandsensationsarepreparedbyrespectiveandalsoverycomplex"networking"ofmillionsand

millionsofneuronsinyourbrain,andtheyinteractwithyourvisualneuralactivities.

ButwhatI'vedescribedsofarisonlyasmallstepofthewholeprocesshowtheadcomesinyourmind.Sofarwecanonlysay

"theadisinyourbrain".Youstillarenotevenawareofit.We(actuallyphysiologists,psychologists,neuroscientistsetc.)know

preciselyhowexternalstimuli-visualstimuli,auditivestimuli,olfactorystimuli,gustatorystimuli,stimuliforthesenseof

touch,andalsostimuliwithregardtothermoception,nociception,equilibrioception,proprioception-arereceivedbyourbody

respectivelybyourbrain.Weknowalotregardingwhichareasofthebraindealwith/reactonthesestimuli.Researchmethods

andanalyticaltools-e.g.functionalMagneticResonanceImaging,PositronEmmissionTomography,EEG,MEG:seebelow-

havebeendevelopedandrecentlymuchimprovedtobetterunderstandthe"topography"ofourbrain'sactivities.Butthereis

morespeculationthanknowledgeabouttheexactmechanismshowthedifferentneuralactivitiesareintegratedtoconsistent

"scenes",howthese"scenes"becomeconscioustoour"self",howconceptsandideasarestored(shortterm/longterm)and

processed,abouttheneuro-physiologyoflearning,howexactlyanenormousshareofourbehavior(thinkofcycling,reading,

walking,andperhapsevendecidingforoneofseveralbrandsofwhiskeyintheshelf…)isautomatedandbythistakenaway

fromourconsciousness.

Iconcedethatwithregardtoallofthesequestionsthereareinteresting,sometimesfascinatingapproachesandcontributions 4) .

Butthereisnogenerallyacceptedtheoryof"howthebrainworks",oraconceptofhowconsciousnesscomesintoourbrain(or

"self"?),oratleastasolutionofthe"bindingproblem" ("…theproblemofhowtheunityofconsciousperceptionisbrought

aboutbythedistributedactivitiesofthecentralnervoussystem" ,RevonsuoandNewman,1999). 5)

Intheir"manifest" 6) theGermanneuroscientistsdescribetheactualstateofresearchasfollows: "Basicallytheneuro-biological

analysisofthebrainsetsinatthreedifferentlevels.Thehighestexplainsthefunctionofmajorregionsofthebrain,e.g.special

functionsofvariousareasofthecortex,oftheamygdalaorofthebasalganglia.Themiddleleveldescribeswhatisgoingonin

formationsofhundredsorthousandsofcells.Andthedeepestlevelcomprisestheprocessesatthelevelofsinglecellsor

molecules.Sofarwehavemadegreatstridesonlywithrespecttothehighestlevelandtothedeepestlevelbutnotatthemiddle

level." TheyexplainthattheprogressattheupperlevelismainlyduetonewmethodslikefMRIandPET. "Ourknowledge

aboutwhat'shappeningatthemiddlelevel-…whichfinallyisthebaseoftheprocessesattheupperlevel-isterriblypoor…It

iscompletelyunknownwhat'sgoingonwhenhundredsofmillionsorevenbillionsofneuralcells"speak"witheachother…We

havenotevenanideaoftheruleshowthebrainworks,howitrepresentstheworldinawaythatactualperceptionfuseswith

formerexperience,howitexperiencesitsinneractivitiesasitsownactivityandhowitplansfutureactions.Evenworse:Itisnot

atallclearhowtoresearchintothiswiththehelpoftheactuallyavailablemethods".

WorldwideReadershipResearchSymposium2005

Session2.8

Withrespecttothefuturepotentialofneurosciencesthe"brainresearchers"declareintheir"manifest":" Inforeseeablefuture,

i.e.inthenext20to30years,neurosciencewillbeabletoexplaintheconnectionbetweenontheonehandneuro-electricand

neuro-chemicalprocessesandontheotherhandperceptive,cognitive,mentalandmotorperformancesinawaythatpredictions

oftheseconnections(inbothways)arefeasiblewithahighdegreeoflikelihood.Thismeansthatonewillconsistentlyaccept

mind,consciousness,feelings,actsofvolition,andfreedomofactionasnaturalprocessesbecausetheyarebasedonbiological

processes.

Neverthelesswe'llnotachieveacompleteexplanationofhowthehumanbrainworks,i.e.ageneraldecipheringatthecellular

orevenatthemolecularlevel.Particularlytherewillbeverylimitedsuccessincompletelydescribinganindividualbrainand

somakingpredictionsofthebehaviorofaparticularperson.Thisisduetothefactthatindividualbrainsorganizethemselves

onthebaseofgeneticdifferencesandnotreproducibleimprintingbyenvironmentaleffects-ingreatlyvaryingwaysfollowing

individualneedsandanindividualsystemofvalues.Thismakesitgenerallynotfeasibletoconcludefromrecordedbrain

activitiestotheresultingmentalprocessofaspecificindividual".

Sotheprovisionalanswertothequestion"howcomestheadinyourmind?"is:Wedon'tknow.Wedoknowalotabouthowit

comesinyourbrainandwiththehelpofnewneuroscientificmethodswehaveidentifiedalotofregionsandstructuresinthe

brainwhichareinvolvedinwhathappensinyourbrainwhenyouopenapageofamagazinewithanad.Andweknowthatwhat

happensinthissituationinyourbrainmaybequitedifferentofwhathappensinthebrainofanotherindividualinthesame

situation.Butweknownotmuchwhatreallyhappensinyourbrainortheotherindividual'sbrain.Theonlythingwearesure

aboutisthatwhathappensisvery,verycomplex-andthatbythewayalsoimpliesthatitisextremelynaïvetobelievethat

neuroscientists(albeitwiththehelpofmarketresearchers)canfindthe"buy-button"inthebrainwhichcouldbeaddressedby

advertisers.WolfSinger,oneofGermany'smostprominentbrainresearchershasputitintothefollowingwordsinaninterview

withtheSPIEGEL: "Todaywecanmeasurebrainactivities-andnowhereacenteroffinalevaluationcouldbediscovered.

Obviouslythereisnosingleplacewhereallinformationgathers,whereconsistentrepresentationsoftheworldarebuiltfromthe

differentsignalsofallsenses,wheredecisionsaremade,wheretheselfsays"I".Insteadweareconfrontedwithanextremely

decentralizedorganizedsystem,whereatmanyplacessimultaneouslyvisual,auditiveandmotor-relatedresultsareproduced.

Andthebraincoordinatesallthisinamysteriouswaytoacoherentinterpretationofworld". 7)

Themostrelevantneuroscientificresearchtechniques

I'lllimitthefollowingshortdescriptionofneuroscientifictechniquestothosedirectlymeasuringbrainactivities.ButIwantat

leastmentionthattherearesomemoremethodsandtechniqueswhicharerelatedtoactivitiesofthenervoussystem

("neuro…"!),e.g.methodsofmeasuringgalvanicskinresponse,muscletension,bloodpressure,etc.

Themostimportantneuroscientifictechniquescanbegroupedintotwocategories:

a) Methodsofmeasuringelectricalactivities respectivelychangesofelectriccurrentsinthebrain(directlyrelatedto

neuralactivities):

- Electroencephalography(EEG)

- Magnetoencephalography(MEG)

b) Methodsofmeasuringchangesofneuralmetabolismprocesses :

- PositronEmmissionTomography(PET)

- FunctionalMagneticResonanceImaging(fMRI)

EEG

ThefirsthumanEEGwasalreadyrecordedin1924andpublishedin1929byHansBergerinJena.FortakinganEEG(normally

about20)electrodesareplacedontheskinofthetestperson.Inordertoreducethebiasbyimpedanceyoushouldpreparethe

scalpareabylightabrasionandapplicationofaconductivegel.

TheEEGshowsthesocalledbrainwavesandhowtheyvaryduringlabexperiments.Thetemporalresolutionishigh(inthearea

ofsub-milliseconds).Sothismethodisinterestingwithregardtotheanalysisofthesequenceofbrainactivities.Howeverithas

limitedanatomicalspecifityandtheresultscanonlyberelatedtothesurfaceofthebrain(spatialresolutionofabout3cm).

MEG

TheMEGisthemeasurementofthemagneticfieldsproducedbyelectricalactivityinthebrain.Itisverysensitive,withoutany

timelagandnotlimitedtotheelectricalactivitiesofthesurfaceofthebrain.Sothistechnologycanprovideanimageofthe

entirebrainactivityatacertainmoment(andofsequencesofmoments).Butthespatialresolutionisaproblembecauseof

interferencesbetweenthemeasuringmachineandtheobjectsofthemeasurement.

The"machine"isasystemofabout300superconductingspoolssituatedinakindofhelmetaroundthehead.Youneeda

magneticallyshieldedroomforthismachineandabout400lliquidheliumpermonth.Themachineisexpensive.Themachine

isabletomeasurethecombinedfieldsfromaregionofabout50.000activeneurons.CombinedwithfMRIandwithhelpof

sophisticatedcomputerprogramsyoucandrivethespatialresolutionofMEGtomillimeters.

Session2.8 WorldwideReadershipResearchSymposium2005

Thestrengthofthistechniqueisitsabilitytoanalyzethetemporalstructureof(changesof)brainactivities.Anexamplegives

thequotefromabrand-choicestudyconductedbyBräutigametalin2001:

" Choosingamongdifferentbrandsofcloselyrelatedproductsactivatedarobustsequenceofsignalswithinthefirstseconds

afterthepresentationofthechoiceimages.Thissequenceengagedfirstthevisualcortex(80-100ms),thenastheimageswere

analyzed,predominantlythelefttemporalregions(310-340ms).Atlongerlatency,characteristicneuralactivationwasfound

inmotorspeechareas(500-520ms)forimagesrequiringlowsaliencechoiceswithrespecttoprevious(brand)memory,andin

therightparietalcortexforhighsaliencechoices(850-920ms)." 8)

PET

PETisanuclearmedicinetechnologywhichcanprovideathreedimensionalimageormapoffunctionalprocessesinthebrain.

"PETscanningisinvasive,inthatradioactivematerialisinjectedintothesubject.Howeverthetotaldoseofradiationissmall,

usuallyaround7mSv.Thiscanbecomparedto…2-6mSvperannumforaircrewsand7,8mSvperannumbackground

exposureinCornwall"(!). 9)

Youneedacyclotron(inthesamebuildingasthescanner).Itisofferedonlybyafewhospitalsanduniversities."PETbrain

mappingisbasedontheassumptionthatareasofhighradioactivityareassociatedwithbrainactivity.Whatisactuallymeasured

indirectlyistheflowofbloodofdifferentpartsofthebrain,whichisgenerallybelievedtobecorrelated,andusuallymeasured

usingthetraceroxygen( 15 O)." 10) Itsspatialresolutionisbrilliant(below1mm),thetemporalresolutionispoor(upto5seconds

youhavetocorrectitforthecomputeranalysis).

FMRI

FMRIisbyfarthemost"popular"neuroscientifictechnique.Itisbasedonthealreadylongknowncorrelationofhemodynamic

activityinthebrainandneuralactivityinthebrain:Activenervecellsconsumeoxygensuppliedbylocalcapillaries.

Approximately4to6secondsafteraburstofneuralactivity,ahemodynamicresponseoccursandthatregionofthebrainis

infusedwithoxygen-richblood.Becauseofthemagneticcharacteristicsofoxygenthemagneticresonancesignalofbloodis

slightlydifferentdependingonthelevelofoxygenation(  " B lood O xygenation L evel D ependantsignal=BOLD).AnMR

scannercanbeusedtodetecttheBOLDcontrast.

ForthosewhowanttogointodetailIrecommend"fMRIforDummies"(www.med.uwo.ca/neuroscience/gap/faculty.htm 

JodyCulham).Ican'theredescribeindetailtheprocessofconductingafFMRIstudy.ButIwanttoemphasizetwopoints:

1) Inordertoproducethesewellknownpictureswheresomeregionsofthebrainare"litup"inyellowandredandothers

arenot

- youhavetoworkoutsuitablehypotheseswhichspecialregionsinthebrain("ROI"=regionsofinterest)willreactin

whichwaytoyourstimulus/task,

- youhavetorecruitrighthandedtestpersonsaccordingtoyourtestdesign(whomustn'thavemetalimplants,

pacemakers,aneurysmclips,interuterinedevices,somedentalwork,piercings,butmustwearearplugsinthescanner),

- youhavetotakenumerousscans,

- youhavetocomparethesescansbycomputerprogramsandhavetotakealotofdecisionsaboutthestatistical

methodstobeapplied,

- youhavetodecideontheanalysisprogram,

- andyouhavetocarefullymeasureouteachtestperson'sbrainandstandardizeitforthecumulativeanalysis:eachtest

personisdifferentandthesamecoordinatesinthescanmaydefinedifferentfunctionalareasindifferentbrains.

Beawareofwhatismeasuredandshownbythepictureswhichbuildyoursurveyreport:Differencesinthecerebral

bloodflowovertimeand/orcomparedtoasituationwithotherstimuli(becausethebraindoesn'thaveasituationwithno

stimulus!).

2) ThepreciserelationshipbetweenneuralsignalsandBOLDisnot(yet)known.Noonereallyunderstandshowneurons

-orasitisrelevanthere:Groups/clustersofsome10000neurons-triggerincreasedbloodflow.Asaconsequenceonecanat

leastnotbesuretodetectallrelevantbrainregions/spotsofneuralactivity-changesbymeasuringcerebralbloodflow

differences.

WorldwideReadershipResearchSymposium2005

Session2.8

Inspiteofallthesepotentialbugsandproblems:fMRIisthemostpreferredtechniqueofneuroscientists.Thespatialresolution

ismoderate(canbeboosteddowntoca.1mmesp.whenfocusingasingleveryspecial"regionofinterest")andthetemporal

resolutionaswell(rememberthetimelagof4-6seconds).

Butitis"notinvasive",youdon'tneedtoinjectradioactivematerialinyourtestpersons.(Youmayjudgewhetheritis"biotic"

tobeaskedtoliestill,usuallyrestraintwithsoftpadsinordertoavoiddisturbingmovementsofthehead,andtobepushedinto

anarrowtubewhereyouhavetowearearmuffsagainsttheterriblenoiseofupto120dB).

Someexamplesofneuroeconomicresearchprojects

ThoughthenumberofmarketingrelatedneuroscientificstudiesseemstobelimitedI'msurethatonlyafractionoftheseprojects

hasbeenpublished.Soanyoverviewmaybebiasedinfavourof(more)academicprojects.PeterKenningandhisgroupatthe

UniversityofMünsterhavegivenanoverviewofrelevantresp.typicalneuroeconomicstudiesintherecentlypublished

"FOCUSJahrbuch2005"towhichIreferinthefollowingsection.Thisisnothingbutatranslationofthispublication:

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