Neuroeconomics in search of the neural representation of brands

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1、J.Y.Chiao(Ed.)ProgressinBrainResearch,Vol.178ISSN0079-6123Copyrightr2009ElsevierB.V.AllrightsreservedCHAPTER17Neuroeconomics:insearchoftheneuralrepresentationofbrandsMichaelSchaeferDepartmentofNeurology,Otto-von-GuerickeUniversityMagdeburg,Magdeburg,Germany

2、Abstract:Inmoderneconomythecustomerisconfrontedwithahugeamountofconsumergoods.Inthissituation,culturallybasedbrandsseemtoplayanimportantroleinestablishingstrongemotionalbondsbetweencustomersandgoodsandtoguidepeopleseconomicbehaviorbybiasingselectionsandprefe

3、rencedecisionsbasedonaffect.Recently,neuroscientificapproacheshavedemonstratedthatculturalobjectslikebrandsorbrand-relatedbehaviormaysuccessfullybeinvestigatedwithneuroimagingtoolslikefMRI.Firststudiessuggestedthatstructuresassociatedwiththerewardcircuit(stri

4、atum)andthedorsolateralpartoftheprefrontalcortexmaybeinvolvedwhenperceivingafavoritebrand.Hence,brandsthathavebeenassociatedwithappetitivestimuliduetomarketingeffortsorculturalfactorsseemtoengagesimilarbrainnetworksthanartificiallyassociatedrewardstimuli.Howe

5、ver,brandshavedifferentandcomplexmeaningsinourlifefarbeyondrepresentingobjectsofdesire.Forexample,thepossessionofgoodsfromcertainkindsofbrandsoftenisusedtomarkthesocialstateoftheownerandtodistinguishhimorherfromothergroups.Inparticular,luxurygoodsoftenseemto

6、havethisfunction.Recentneuroimagingresultssupportthisobservationbyshowingthatviewinglogosofluxurybrandsisassociatedwithbrainactivityintheanteriormedialprefrontalcortex,aregionknowntobeassociatedwithself-centeredcognitions.Thus,itseemsthatbrandsofluxurygoodsi

7、mproveself-relevantthoughts,pointingtotheroleofluxurybrandstomarkthesuperiorpositionoftheownerinsociety.Theseresultsdemonstratethatculturalsymbolslikebrandscansuccessfullybeexaminedwithneuroimagingapproaches.Thus,alongwithadvancedculturaltheories,neuroeconom

8、icsmayprovideimportantcontributionstotheunderstandingofbrand-relatedoreconomicbehavior.Keywords:culturalobjects;prefrontalcortex;brands;fMRIIntroduction:brandsasculturalsymbolsseveralmonths.Fina