Want some more information about the science behind the recent study on how brand affinity can affect brain activity? Last week, Samuel McClure and his colleagues published a paper in the science journal Neuron. In "Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for Culturally Familiar Drinks," the authors show how brand affinity can trump a blind taste test -- people who preferred Pepsi over Coke would change their response when they learned which option was Coke: Their brand knowledge flipped a switch in their head.

[Thanks, Simon!]