Recent years have seen advances in neuroimaging to such an extent that neuroscientists are able to directly study the frequency, location, and
timing of neuronal activity to an unprecedented degree. However, marketing science has remained largely unaware of such advances and their
huge potential. In fact, the application of neuroimaging to market research
–
what has come to be called
‘
neuromarketing
’–
has caused
considerable controversy within neuroscience circles in recent times. This paper is an attempt to widen the scope of neuromarketing beyond
commercial brand and consumer behaviour applications, to include a wider conceptualisation of marketing science. Drawing from general
neuroscience and neuroeconomics, neuromarketing as a field of study is defined, and some future research directions are suggested.