Background: In the past decade, marketing studies have greatly benefited from the adoption of neuroscience techniques to explore conscious and unconscious drivers of consumer behavior. Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the most frequently applied neuroscientific techniques for marketing studies, thanks to its low cost and high temporal resolution.Objective: We present an overview of EEG applications in consumer neuroscience. The aim of this review is to facilitate future research and to highlight reliable approaches for deriving research and managerial implications.Method: We conducted a systematic review by querying five databases for the titles of articles published up to June 2020 with the terms [EEG] AND [neuromarketing] OR [consumer neuroscience].Results: We screened 264 abstracts and analyzed 113 articles, classified based on research topics (e.g., product characteristics, pricing, advertising attention and memorization, rational, and emotional messages) and characteristics of the experimental design (tasks, stimuli, participants, additional techniques).Conclusions: This review highlights the main applications of EEG to consumer neuroscience research and suggests several ways EEG technique can complement traditional experimental paradigms. Further research areas, including consumer profiling and social consumer neuroscience, have not been sufficiently explored yet and would benefit from EEG techniques to address unanswered questions.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchasing behaviour in a sample of Italian consumers.Design/methodology/approachParticipants (N = 194) completed an online survey including personal data, two questionnaires on purchase behaviour and food consumption, the General Trust Scale (GTS), a questionnaire assessing individual chronotype and two scales about food literacy: one investigating nutritional knowledge (short food literacy questionnaire, SFLQ) and the other focussing on procedural skills (self-perceived food literacy scale, SPFL). Associations between food literacy, consumer profiling and purchase behaviour were analysed with linear regression models.FindingsParticipants with specific education in nutrition reported higher scores in food literacy. The final score of food literacy was predicted by a greater attention to nutritional content and nutritional properties of products. Women paid more attention to nutritional properties than men, and they obtained higher scores in SFLQ. Evening types obtained lower scores in SFPL compared to intermediate and morning chronotypes. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively correlated to SPFL score, while it was associated with the easy availability of a product, so that obese (BMI ≥ 30) subjects considered the easy availability of a product more important compared to non-obese ones (BMI < 30).Originality/valueThis study investigates the influence of personal and psychometric variables of consumer profiling on food literacy and consequently on purchase behaviour, paving the way for implementing healthier food consumption policies. These findings reinforce the primacy of specific education in building healthy eating habits.

Summary Consumer “Smartbands” can collect physiological parameters, such as heart rate (HR), continuously across the sleep–wake cycle. Nevertheless, the quality of HR data detected by such devices and their place in the research and clinical field is debatable, as they are rarely rigorously validated. The objective of the present study was to investigate the reliability of pulse photoplethysmographic detection by the Fitbit ChargeHR™ (FBCHR, Fitbit Inc.) in a natural setting of continuous recording across vigilance states. To fulfil this aim, concurrent portable polysomnographic (pPSG) and the Fitbit’s photoplethysmographic data were collected from a group of 25 healthy young adults, for ≥12 hr. The pPSG‐derived HR was automatically computed and visually verified for each 1‐min epoch, while the FBCHR HR measurements were downloaded from the application programming interface provided by the manufacturer. The FBCHR was generally accurate in estimating the HR, with a mean (SD) difference of −0.66 (0.04) beats/min (bpm) versus the pPSG‐derived HR reference, and an overall Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) of 0.93 (average per participant r = 0.85 ± 0.11), regardless of vigilance state. The correlation coefficients were larger during all sleep phases (rapid eye movement, r = 0.9662; N1, r = 0.9918; N2, r = 0.9793; N3, r = 0.9849) than in wakefulness (r = 0.8432). Moreover, the correlation coefficient was lower for HRs of >100 bpm (r = 0.374) than for HRs of <100 bpm (r = 0.84). Consistently, Bland–Altman analysis supports the overall higher accuracy in the detection of HR during sleep. The relatively high accuracy of FBCHR pulse rate detection during sleep makes this device suitable for sleep‐related research applications in healthy participants, under free‐living conditions.

Background The lockdown measures implemented to face the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) first wave deeply modified the lifestyle of the Italian population. Despite its efficacy in limiting the number of infections, forced home confinement was paralleled by sleep/wake cycle disruptions, psychological distress and maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., unhealthy behaviours, such as tobacco and alcohol consumption). Under these unprecedented stress conditions, we explored a possible association between poor sleep quality and increased likelihood of engaging in an unhealthy lifestyle. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted by disseminating an online survey via social networks and e-mail. We collected information on demographics, COVID-19-related data, sleep quality, chronotype, circadian misalignment, and lifestyle before and during the lockdown (i.e., consumption of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, coffee, hypnotics, comfort food and fresh food; practice of physical activity). A global healthiness score was computed to assess participants’ modifications in lifestyle since the beginning of the lockdown. Results 1297 respondents were included in the study: 414 (31.9%) from Northern Italy, 723 (55.8%) from Central Italy, 160 (12.3%) from Southern Italy. The following variables were found to be significant predictors of the adoption of an unhealthy lifestyle since the beginning of the lockdown: poor sleep quality, high BMI and considering the measures adopted by the government to fight the pandemic as excessive. Living in Northern Italy, instead, was associated with healthier habits compared to living in Central Italy. Conclusions Poor sleepers may represent the share of the general population who paid the highest price for social isolation. Further investigations are required to explore the role of sleep quality assessment in the identification of individuals vulnerable to unhealthy behaviours under stressful conditions.

The use of exogenous melatonin as a sleep-promoting drug has been under debate due to the lack of consistency of its described effects. In this study, we conduct a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature on the chronobiotic, sleep-inducing, and overall sleep-promoting properties of exogenous melatonin (exo-MEL). To this aim, we first describe the possible pharmacological mechanisms involved in the sleep-promoting properties and then report the corresponding effects of exo-MEL administration on clinical outcomes in: a) healthy subjects, b) circadian rhythm sleep disorders, c) primary insomnia. Timing of administration and doses of exo-MEL received particular attention in this work. The exo-MEL pharmacological effects are hereby interpreted in view of changes in the physiological properties and rhythmicity of endogenous melatonin. Finally, we discuss some translational implications for the personalized use of exo-MEL in the clinical practice.

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Objective. The aim of this study is to explore the adherence to treatment in patients with Behçet's syndrome (BS), to identify the diverse adherence profiles and their correlations. Methods. A cross-sectional study among adult BS patients was conducted administering an ad-hoc questionnaire to BS patients with the aim of investigating several dimensions related to BS management, including attitudes towards treatment. A Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was performed to identify adherence profiles and associated characteristics were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results. A total of 207 patients answered the survey and 180 of them declared to take medication for BS, thus representing the study population. More than a third of the respondents have declared that they have skipped treatments before and autonomously modified (reduced or increased) the dosage of the treatment without medical consultation. LCA analysis allowed the identification of two distinct profiles, one more stick with recommended medication and the other less adherent to treatment. The less-adherent BS patient profile seems to be related with being in the third decade of life, being diagnosed with BS for more than 5 years and perceiving greater psychological impact of the disease. Conclusion.Addressing adherence in BS is not only related to measuring treatment adherence and identifying the barriers and the limitations; in fact, it should also encompass a wider approach that includes the awareness, the socio-psychological impact of the dis ease as well as patient education.