. . . or, at least, wines by their price tags
Marketing affects our behavior, although little is known about the neural mechanisms of this influence. In this study, 20 subjects rated cabernet sauvignon wines while undergoing functional MRI. There were six tasting trials, and samples were identified by price. However, two wines were administered twice — once with a high price, and once with a low one: $5 (wine 1), $10 (wine 2), $35 (wine 3), $45 (wine 1), and $90 (wine 2). A neutral solution was rated and used as a rinse. Subjects were told that the researchers were studying how sampling time affects flavor perception.
The reported pleasantness of the wine positively correlated with price, even for the same wine. Activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and the rostral anterior…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresRoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions
Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)
DisclosuresRoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions
Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)