neurobiology tackles the big questions

From: herownsourgelatine <dlinden_at_jhmi.edu_at_hypermail.org>
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 08:26:52 -0000

This just out...

Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for Culturally Familiar Drinks
Samuel M. McClure,1,2 Jian Li,1 Damon Tomlin, Kim S. Cypert, Latané M. Montague, and P.
Read Montague

Coca-Cola® (Coke®) and Pepsi® are nearly identical in chemical composition, yet humans
routinely display strong subjective preferences for one or the other. This simple
observation raises the important question of how cultural messages combine with content
to shape our perceptions; even to the point of modifying behavioral preferences for a
primary reward like a sugared drink. We delivered Coke and Pepsi to human subjects in
behavioral taste tests and also in passive experiments carried out during functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two conditions were examined: (1) anonymous
delivery of Coke and Pepsi and (2) brand-cued delivery of Coke and Pepsi. For the
anonymous task, we report a consistent neural response in the ventromedial prefrontal
cortex that correlated with subjects' behavioral preferences for these beverages. In the
brand-cued experiment, brand knowledge for one of the drinks had a dramatic influence
on expressed behavioral preferences and on the measured brain responses.
Received on 2004-10-14 01:26:59