Incessant Blog Reading Triggers Near Insanity: Scientists Baffled
Posted on 07. Mar, 2008 by Kerry Friesen, M.D. in Neuromarketing Niche'ities
Incessant blog reading or “inbleading”, apparently has its consequences. “Bleaders” (incessant blog readers) net-wide, are reporting irrational behavior and brief memory lapses following extended periods of extreme blog hopping.
Of course that is all made up. But before you sail away, ask yourself, “just how well is my brain able to discern the difference between the stupid and the stupendous, the credible and the incredulous”? From the brain’s perspective, the more outlandish and crazier the claim is, the greater the curiosity! Even the exclamation point at the end of the last sentence has you wondering, “did I just read/hear/see that right”? Don’t worry, the “Scientists Baffled” comment gets everyone too. Welcome to the wacky world of Neuromarketing, the branch of neuroscience that concerns itself with the brain’s “buy button” and various hidden subliminal “switches”.
Neuroimaging studies are now quite definitive about where basic beliefs like “do fish swim?”, “is the pope Catholic?”, get processed in the brain. That’s the job of the ventromedial PreFrontal Cortex (vmPFC). A rather unremarkable area near the front of the brain towards the midline.
Things like uncertainty and error detection however, “light up” a whole other area of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The ACC in turn, has direct output connections to the basal ganglia. Interpretation? That “gut feeling”, that intuitive sense of the believable or unbelievable governed by something we call common sense–well, it’s real! In fact, a finely tuned connection between the anterior cingulate cortex and the basal ganglia may be the basis for someone’s uncanny ability to discern the truth given conflicting facts (the headline of this post for example.) It may also help explain why some people react with a very guttural sense of disgust when confronted with a lie. It just doesn’t “feel” right.
Gerald Zaltman Ph.D., a member of Harvard University’s interdisciplinary initiative, “Mind, Brain, and Behavior”, believes that 95% of consumer decision making occurs subconsciously. Dr. Zaltman is recognized as one of the nation’s top five marketing scholars and holds patents in the area of neuroimaging and neuromarketing. But can you really be “made” to believe something that isn’t believable? Can subliminal messaging subvert your subconscious? Not unless you let it.
When it comes to marketing, “neuro” or otherwise, honesty is still the best policy. Confirming marketing nonsense with crazy headlines is after all, just a psychological gimmick with no real lasting power. Deception is nothing more than denying what “is”. Understanding the mind of your market…well that’s another matter entirely. Cognitive sciences combined with nanotechnology will continue to give birth to strange new disciplines. My advice…start fine tuning your ACC/Basal nuclei interneurons. In other words, “go with your gut” cause’ the fun has just begun…so-to-speak.
7 Responses to “Incessant Blog Reading Triggers Near Insanity: Scientists Baffled”
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Kerry Friesen, M.D.: Yes. Two eyes, two hands, one brain :)...
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PostOnFire.com
07. Mar, 2008
Excessive Blogging Triggers Insanity…
Cognitive science and nanotechnology will continue to develop new ways of exploring the brain. Neuromarketing and functional MRI (fMRI) represent the latest trend in understanding the neuroanatomical location of the brain’s “buy button” and other …
Margaret
08. Mar, 2008
OMG! I’m sure I have this condition! Is it fatal? Am I going to go crazy?? Or WORSE? Oh DEAR! Is there treatment available???
I need to buy health insurance, life insurance and car insurance! I need to by a car so I can get treatment!
AHHHHHHHH! Somebody helllllp me!
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Margaret’s last blog post..Twelve Days and Counting
Kerry Friesen, M.D.
08. Mar, 2008
Not only is it fatal Margaret, worse yet it is incurable. If only there were a cure…think of the potential market. Meanwhile, purchase all the insurance you’re eligible for…..just in case!
Margaret
08. Mar, 2008
I was afraid of that! Now I’ll have to tell my family — they will be devastated! Who knew I would end up like Patrick Swayze and on my death bed at such an early age! And from such an obscure disease, yet! My mother will not understand — she doesn’t understand blogging anyway — I have to define the word every time she hears it….my poor husband…left with all these critters…my poor critters! Who will care for them when I’m gone!?!?
I think I will just have to put this out of my mind and live each day as it comes.
How do you deal with this disease??
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Margaret’s last blog post..Word Play
Health, Fitness, Science
09. Mar, 2008
I must agree with this because I had some bladder problems before, because when I am so in to what Iam doing when I am blogging, I just ignore my needs to go to the washroom as I can. And This can be very very bad. I guess we must all have to prioritized our health before money or work..
Kerry Friesen, M.D.
15. Mar, 2008
Brain first, body second….blogging last!
BillinDetroit
23. Mar, 2008
blogging, blogging, über alles!
Seriously … this looks like the beginning of an interesting blog. I’ll pop in from time to time to see how it’s coming. Just be cautious not to use too many technical terms without defining them. That, all by itself, may pose the biggest challenge. For instance, is that face-recognition thingy somehow attached to the name-forgetting thingy?
BillinDetroit’s last blog post..The Role Of Race In The United States Mortgage Mess