Changes in brain activity during the observation of TV commercials by using EEG, GSR and HR measurements.

In this study we were interested to analyse the brain activity occurring during the "naturalistic" observation of commercial ads intermingled in a random order within a documentary. In order to measure both the brain activity and the emotional engage of the 15 healthy subjects investigated, we used simultaneous EEG, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Heart Rate (HR) recordings during the whole experiment. We would like to link significant variation of EEG, GSR, HR and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurements with the memory and pleasantness of the stimuli presented, as resulted successively from the subject's verbal interview. In order to do that, different indexes were employed to summarize the cerebral and autonomic measurements performed. Such indexes were used in the statistical analysis, performed with the use of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and z-score transformation of the estimated cortical activity by solving the associated EEG inverse problem. The results are summarized as follows: (1) in the population analyzed, the cortical activity in the theta band elicited during the observation of the TV commercials that were remembered is higher and localized in the left frontal brain areas when compared to the activity elicited during the vision of the TV commercials that were forgotten (p < 0.048). Same increase in the theta activity occurred during the observation of commercials that were judgment pleasant when compared with the other (p < 0.042). Differences in cortical activity were also observed for the gamma activity, bilaterally in frontal and prefrontal areas. (2) the HR and HRV activity elicited during the observation of the TV commercials that were remembered or judged pleasant is higher than the same activity during the observation of commercials that will be forgotten (p < 0.001 and p < 0.048, respectively for HR and HRV) or were judged unpleasant (p < 0.042 and p < 0.04, respectively for HR and HRV). No statistical differences between the level of the GSR values were observed across the experimental conditions. In conclusion, the TV commercials proposed to the population analyzed have increased the HR values and the cerebral activity mainly in the theta band in the left hemisphere when they will be memorized and judged pleasant. Further research with an extended set of subjects will be necessary to further validate the observations reported in this paper. However, these conclusions seems reasonable and well inserted in the already existing literature on this topic related to the HERA model.

Structure of the cortical networks during successful memory encoding in TV commercials.

OBJECTIVE: This work intends to evaluate the functional characteristics of the cerebral network during the successful memory encoding of TV commercials. METHODS: We estimated the functional networks in the frequency domain from a set of high-resolution EEG data in a group of healthy subjects during the showing of commercial spots within a neutral documentary. We evaluated the differences in the cortical network associated with later remembered and not-remembered commercials by calculating the global-E(g) and local-efficiency E(l) indexes. RESULTS: Successful encoding of TV spots significantly affects the functional communication among cortical areas irrespectively of the frequency band. During the visualization of the video-clips that will be forgotten (FRG), the cortical network exhibited high values of global- and local-efficiency, reflecting a small-world configuration. During the visualization of the video-clips that will be remembered (RMB), the same indexes appeared significantly lower. This difference was especially evident for E(l) in the alpha band and for E(g) in the beta and gamma bands. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of attentional and semantic processes during the RMB condition leads to a significant reduction of the network communication efficiency. SIGNIFICANCE: Such a reduction could represent a predictive measure of accurate recalls of TV spots.

EEG analysis of the brain activity during the observation of commercial, political, or public service announcements.

The use of modern brain imaging techniques could be useful to understand what brain areas are involved in the observation of video clips related to commercial advertising, as well as for the support of political campaigns, and also the areas of Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In this paper we describe the capability of tracking brain activity during the observation of commercials, political spots, and PSAs with advanced high-resolution EEG statistical techniques in time and frequency domains in a group of normal subjects. We analyzed the statistically significant cortical spectral power activity in different frequency bands during the observation of a commercial video clip related to the use of a beer in a group of 13 normal subjects. In addition, a TV speech of the Prime Minister of Italy was analyzed in two groups of swing and "supporter" voters. Results suggested that the cortical activity during the observation of commercial spots could vary consistently across the spot. This fact suggest the possibility to remove the parts of the spot that are not particularly attractive by using those cerebral indexes. The cortical activity during the observation of the political speech indicated a major cortical activity in the supporters group when compared to the swing voters. In this case, it is possible to conclude that the communication proposed has failed to raise attention or interest on swing voters. In conclusions, high-resolution EEG statistical techniques have been proved to able to generate useful insights about the particular fruition of TV messages, related to both commercial as well as political fields.

The study of brain activity during the observation of commercial advertising by using high resolution EEG techniques.

In this paper we illustrate the capability of tracking brain activity during the observation of commercial TV spots by using advanced high resolution EEG statistical techniques in time and frequency domains. In particular, we analyzed the statistically significant cortical spectral power activity in different frequency bands during the observation of a commercial video clip related to the use of a beer in a group of 13 normal subjects. In addition, a TV speech of the prime minister of Italy was analyzed in two groups of swing and "supporter" voters. Results suggested that the cortical activity during the observation of commercial spots could vary consistently across the spot. This fact suggest the possibility to remove the part of the spot that are not particularly attractive by using those cerebral indexes. The cortical activity during the observation of the political speech indicated a major cortical activity in the supporters group when compared to the swing voters. In this case, it is possible to conclude that the communication proposed has failed to raise attention or interest on swing voters. In conclusions, high resolution EEG have been proved able to generate useful insights about the particular fruition of TV messages, related to both commercial as well as political fields.

Brain activity during the memorization of visual scenes from TV commercials: an application of high resolution EEG and steady state somatosensory evoked potentials technologies.

The aim of this study was to elucidate if the TV commercials that were remembered by the subjects after their observation within a documentary elicited particular brain activity when compared to the activity generated during the observation of TV commercials that were forgotten. High resolution EEG recordings were performed in a group of 10 healthy subjects with the steady state somatosensory evoked potentials (SSSEPs) technique, in which a series of light electrical stimulation at the left wrist were delivered at the frequency of 20Hz. The brain activity was indexed by the phase delay of the EEG spectral responses at 20Hz with respect to the stimulus delivering and evaluated at the scalp level as well as at the cortical surface using several regions of interest coincident with the Brodmann areas (BAs). Results suggest that the cerebral processes involved during the observation of TV commercials that were remembered by the population examined (RMB dataset) are generated by the posterior parietal cortices and the prefrontal areas, rather bilaterally. These results are compatible with previously results obtained in literature by using MEG and fMRI devices during similar experimental tasks. High resolution EEG is able to summarize, with the use of SSSEPs methodologies, the behavior of the estimated cortical networks subserving the proposed memory tasks. It is likely that such tool could play a role in the next future for the investigation of the neural substrates of the human behavior in decision-making and recognition tasks.

The track of brain activity during the observation of TV commercials with the high-resolution EEG technology.

We estimate cortical activity in normal subjects during the observation of TV commercials inserted within a movie by using high-resolution EEG techniques. The brain activity was evaluated in both time and frequency domains by solving the associate inverse problem of EEG with the use of realistic head models. In particular, we recover statistically significant information about cortical areas engaged by particular scenes inserted within the TV commercial proposed with respect to the brain activity estimated while watching a documentary. Results obtained in the population investigated suggest that the statistically significant brain activity during the observation of the TV commercial was mainly concentrated in frontoparietal cortical areas, roughly coincident with the Brodmann areas 8, 9, and 7, in the analyzed population.