Application of frontal EEG asymmetry to advertising research

The aim of the study was to identify frontal cortex activation in reaction to TV advertisements. We compared three consecutive creative executions of the world-famous Sony Bravia ads ("Balls", "Paints", and "Play-Doh"). We were looking for left hemispheric dominance, which according to the adopted theoretical model, indicated approach reactions of respondents to incoming stimulation. We have found that dominant reactions were present only in response to one of the tested ads - "Balls". Target group respondents reacted in such way to emotional part of the ad, as well as to its informational part (including product-benefit, product, and brand exposure scenes). No similar pattern was found for the remaining two ads. It yields a conclusion that frontal asymmetry measure may be a diagnostic tool in examining the potential of advertisements to generate approach related tendencies. We believe that methodologies based on measuring brain waves activity would soon significantly enrich marketing research portfolio and help marketers to go beyond verbal declarations of their consumers.Biometric consumer research Frontal asymmetry EEG Advertising Copy testing Brain waves Neuromarketing

Interferometric Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (iNIRS) for determination of optical and dynamical properties of turbid media

We introduce and implement interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy (iNIRS), which simultaneously extracts optical and dynamical properties of turbid media through analysis of a spectral interference fringe pattern. The spectral interference fringe pattern is measured using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a frequency-swept narrow linewidth laser. Fourier analysis of the detected signal is used to determine time-of-flight (TOF)-resolved intensity, which is then analyzed over time to yield TOF-resolved intensity autocorrelations. This approach enables quantification of optical properties, which is not possible in conventional, continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Furthermore, iNIRS quantifies scatterer motion based on TOF-resolved autocorrelations, which is a feature inaccessible by well-established diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) techniques. We prove this by determining TOF-resolved intensity and temporal autocorrelations for light transmitted through diffusive fluid phantoms with optical thicknesses of up to 55 reduced mean free paths (approximately 120 scattering events). The TOF-resolved intensity is used to determine optical properties with time-resolved diffusion theory, while the TOF-resolved intensity autocorrelations are used to determine dynamics with diffusing wave spectroscopy. iNIRS advances the capabilities of diffuse optical methods and is suitable for in vivo tissue characterization. Moreover, iNIRS combines NIRS and DCS capabilities into a single modality