Can a brain scan predict the success of a song before it is released? According to a new study from Emory University (USA), yes. Using neuroimaging techniques, neuroeconomist Gregory Bern and his colleagues studied 120 songs available on MySpace.com and composed by little-known musicians, and studied the brain reactions of 27 students between the ages of 12 and 17, as well as They were asked to rate them from 1 to 5. Three years later, while watching "American Idol" with his daughters, Berns realized that one of the songs he tested had become a huge success: Apologize by the American rock band One Republic . And by reviewing the study again, he found that neural data collected years earlier could be used to predict the popularity or failure of songs .
As the researchers publish in the latest issue of the Journal of Consumer Psychology , this "accidental" discovery reveals that neuroimaging techniques could be used to predict cultural phenomena in a population . Bern is interested in studying trends, cultural and religious phenomena as well? "Lastly, I try to predict the story, " confesses the researcher.
