Video games and movies are one of the more interesting neuromarketing applications, in that the technology can be applied to not just advertising but the product itself. A new effort by Microsoft and Emsense carries that idea one step…

We know that smells can evoke memories - think Proust's madeleine - but new research shows that first-time scents seem to merit a unique status in our brains. The researchers used fMRI imaging to judge how well people paired scents and…

One of my favorite chapters in How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer is The Brain is an Argument. In this chapter, Lehrer highlights how complex our decision-making process really is, and how competing options battle for supremacy.

Some neuroscientists have long been critical of fMRI brain scans, complaining that the technique's colorful images may cause their data to be weighted beyond their merit. Now, two skeptical groups have published data suggesting that the…

It's Monday, your inbox is full of unanswered emails, you desk is piled high with paper, and you've got a couple of important project deadlines looming. There's one bright spot: although past research has indicated that people's ability to…

Over the years, movie-makers have tried to go beyond what's on the screen to scare theatergoers. In the 1950s, director William Castle startled those viewing his horror films, notably The Tingler, with gimmicks like vibrators installed…

In Audio Branding, I wrote about subtle uses of music to influence our behavior. Most of the uses of music for branding or sales enhancement are so subtle that listeners may not be consciously aware the music is even playing - it's…

Robert Burton of Salon wrote an interesting piece that discusses both the field of prescription drug marketing and how fMRI brain scans have been used to show that pain is "real." Fibromyalgia is a condition in which patients seem to…

From both physicians and fitness gurus, the mantra for effective weight loss is the same: diet and exercise. And we've all had friends who gushed about starting a modest walking program, for example, and saw themselves drop unwanted…

One of the more startling conclusions in Martin Lindstrom's Buyology was that tobacco warning labels might really be ads. Specifically, Lindstrom described the results of fMRI brain scan research that showed images associated with smoking…