They don't just want your money. They want your brain

"Neuromarketing" tracks volunteers' reactions to products not by listening to their views, but by reading impressions from their brains. The system, which has been condemned by some as Orwellian, puts consumers into MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanners to see which feelings are engaged by a product.

The technique, which could make focus groups redundant, is based on the technology used in hospitals to analyse medical conditions. By focusing on blood flow to certain parts of the brain, analysts can track a range of feelings at cellular level, from recognition and approval to enjoyment and arousal. This can then be put to commercial use by advertisers.

The process is already in use. Yesterday, the IoS was allowed in to watch as young volunteers were tested by Viacom Brand Solutions, which owns a number of popular television channels, including MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon. The experiment took place at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences in south London, part of King's College Hospital.

Viacom's managing director, Nick Bampton, said: "We're trying to find out what is relevant and engaging for the viewers, and also how we can improve the return for investors. What this should result in is a win-win situation: viewers will get what they want, programmers will get what they want, and advertisers will get what they want."

Advocates say that neuromarketing is an efficient form of market research because at least 95 per cent of all thinking, including emotion, happens below the level of awareness. In other words, this approach could tell them more about a person's feelings than that person could ever express verbally.

Although few studies have been conducted so far, one British company, Neurosense - which ran yesterday's session for Viacom - is a pioneer in the field. Dr Gemma Calvert, a co-founder of the Oxford business, said: "There is so much advertising out there now, and this provides a means of clearing the clutter. It bridges the gap between what the consumer really wants and how the manufacturer can supply that."

The subject of an experiment lies inside a tube-shaped MRI scanner for up to an hour. While they watch images on a screen, the scanner takes around 40 pictures of their brain every three seconds to monitor the active areas. Around eight subjects can be tested in one day.

But the lack of MRI scanners remains a drawback to this method of marketing research. One scanner costs around £1.25m, and at the moment there are only 30 or so in the UK. Gaining access to them, usually via hospitals and universities, is difficult.

But not everyone is convinced by the technique. Caroline Whitehill, co-founder of Acacia Avenue, a London-based research and strategy consultancy, said people should be aware of the limits.

"It sounds fantastic," said Ms Whitehill. "I mean, how sexy is it to imagine someone's brain lighting up in response to your product? But what it doesn't tell you is why that brain is lighting up. Even the subjects themselves probably couldn't tell you - and unless you know why, it's not actionable.

"Neuromarketing is certainly another tool for advertisers, and it feels robust because it's science-based, but its boundaries need to be fully understood."