Mind Games: Nielsen Acquiring Brain Prober, Thwarts WPP Bid

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=150884
Nielsen Co. has agreed to acquire NeuroFocus, one of the leading companies applying neuroscience to advertising, media and brand research, MediaDailyNews has learned. The deal, which is expected to be announced soon, follows a bid by WPP Group, the largest advertising and media services company in the world, and an arch rival to Nielsen in marketing and media research.

The acquisition is interesting for a variety of reasons, especially the fact that neuromarketing research is getting very hot among some big marketers and agencies, and NeuroFocus has been one of the most aggressive and visible players in the field, announcing a new technology it claims can literally read people's minds.
 
The technology, which is actually called Mynd, utilizes a lightweight cap that can read and interpret the electrical signals emitted by human brains with a degree of fidelity that NeuroFocus' Pradeep claims is "medical grade," and could one-day be used by paralyzed people to control machines and other technology simply by thinking about it.