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Neurosense
Limited
5 South Parade
Summertown
Oxford
Oxfordshire OX2 7JL
United Kingdom
T:
+44 (0) 1453 861616
M:
+44(0) 7720 591743
E:
info@neurosense.co.uk |
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TECHNIQUES
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of how the brain
subserves perception, cognition and behaviour. The field
emerged in the late 1970’s and reflects the convergence of
methodologies from psychology, neuroscience, neuroimaging
and cognitive neuropsychology. Below is a description of
the techniques used at Neurosense.
Functional Neuroimaging
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a safe,
non-invasive technique that allows us to locate and
quantify brain activity associated with thoughts, feelings
and action. It can also be carried out rapidly (an experiment typically
lasts only a few minutes and a whole session less than an
hour). Subjects lie in an MRI scanner and are then exposed
to sensory stimuli (e.g. pictures of different brand
extensions, or different combinations of tastes and
smells) or might be asked to carry out a task (e.g. rate
how happy you feel after each trial; try and remember as
many of these images as possible). When a part of the
brain becomes active, the brightness of the images
changes. By analysing the images using sophisticated
computer programmes, we can quantify and localise brain
activity in areas involved in emotion, attention, memory
and decision-making. The excellent spatial and temporal
resolution of fMRI also helps us to determine to what
extent the pleasure centres in the brain are activated
when consumers interact with particular products, ads and
packaging.
Psychological Testing
Advanced psychological testing can provide key information
about whether or not specific brain regions are 'active'
and therefore whether or not different types of
information will be perceived (either consciously or
unconsciously), attended to and remembered. The quality of
a psychological test is measured by how well its
psychometric properties conform to theoretical notions of
reliability and validity. Good validity means that the
test actually measures what it is purported to measure.
Good reliability means the test's measurements are
accurate and consistent across different experimenters,
locations, and times. In order to be used reliably to
predict the behaviour (e.g. of consumers) the key
qualities required of any psychological test are
specificity (performance on the test should predict a
specific type of behaviour in the 'real world') and
sensitivity (the test should detect such tendencies in the
majority of participants most of the time). At Neurosense,
extensive validation procedures are employed in order to
measure how well a test meets these psychometric criteria.
©
Copyright 2003, Neurosense Limited. All Rights Reserved. |
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December 2008
colloquy.com
The Neuromancers
Is there a "buy button" inside the human brain?
That’s the billion-dollar question—and to answer it,
a new generation of marketers is coming for your
customers’ brains. Their
work will impact marketing budgets, reward design,
dialogue marketing, customer segmentation and
more....
>Read on >> |
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