Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - Commercial Use

Commercial Use

Some experiments have shown the neural correlates of peoples' brand preferences. Samuel M. McClure used fMRI to show the Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and midbrain were more active when people knowingly drank Coca Cola as opposed to when they drank unlabeled Coke. Other studies have shown the brain activity that characterizes men's preference for sports cars, and even differences between Democrats and Republicans in their reaction to campaign commercials with images of the 9/11 attacks. Neuromarketing companies have seized on these studies as a better tool to poll user preferences than the conventional survey technique. One such company was BrightHouse, now shut down. Another is Oxford, UK, based Neurosense, which advises clients how they could potentially use fMRI as part of their marketing business activity. A third is Sales Brain in California.

At least two companies have been set up to use fMRI in lie detection: No Lie MRI and the Cephos Corporation. No Lie MRI charges close to $5000 for its services. These companies depend on evidence such as that from a study by Joshua Greene at Harvard University suggesting the Prefrontal cortex is more active in those contemplating lying.

However, there is still a fair amount of controversy over whether these techniques are reliable enough to be used in a legal setting. Some studies indicate that while there is an overall positive correlation, there is a great deal of variation between findings and in some cases considerable difficulty in replicating the findings. A federal magistrate judge in Tennessee prohibited fMRI evidence to back up a defendant's claim of telling the truth, on the grounds that such scans do not measure up to the legal standard of scientific evidence.. Most researchers agree that the ability of fMRI to detect deception in a real life setting has not been established.