Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2010 Jun;5(2-3):274-81. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsp055. Epub 2010 Jan 15.
Traditionally, complex cultural symbols like brands are investigated with psychological approaches. Often this is done by using semantic differentials, in which participants are asked to rate a brand regarding different pairs of adjectives. Only recently, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to examine brands. In the current work we used fMRI in combination with a semantic differential to cross-validate both methods and to improve the characterization of the basic factors constituting the semantic space. To this end we presented pictures of brands while recording subject's brain activity during an fMRI experiment. Results of the semantic differential arranged the brands in a semantic space illustrating their relationships to other cultural symbols. FMRI results revealed activation of the medial prefrontal cortex for brands that loaded high on the factor 'social competence', suggesting an involvement of a cortical network associated with social cognitions. In contrast, brands closely related to the factor 'potency' showed decreased activity in the superior frontal gyri, possibly related to working memory during task performance. We discuss the results as a different engagement of the prefrontal cortex when perceiving brands as cultural symbols.
传统上，复杂的文化符号（如品牌）是通过心理学方法来研究的。通常，这是通过使用语义差异来完成的，其中要求参与者根据不同的形容词对品牌进行评分。直到最近，功能磁共振成像（fMRI）才被用于研究品牌。在当前的工作中，我们使用 fMRI 结合语义差异来交叉验证这两种方法，并改进构成语义空间的基本因素的特征。为此，我们在 fMRI 实验期间展示了品牌的图片，同时记录了受试者的大脑活动。语义差异的结果将品牌排列在一个语义空间中，说明了它们与其他文化符号的关系。fMRI 结果显示，在“社交能力”因素上得分较高的品牌会激活内侧前额叶皮层，这表明与社会认知相关的皮质网络的参与。相比之下，与“功效”因素密切相关的品牌在前额上回的活动减少，这可能与任务表现期间的工作记忆有关。我们讨论了这些结果，认为当将品牌视为文化符号时，前额叶皮层会有不同的参与。
