Possession Is Nine-Tenths the Perce...(s -- and the patterns of activity these ...),Health

Knutson and his colleagues set out to dissect the endowment effect by subjecting 24 healthy men and women to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to observe brain activity in three regions of the brain: the greater nucleus accumbens (NAcc); the mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC); and the insula.

The researchers note that the NAcc is associated with the prediction of monetary gain and preferences for particular objects. The MPFC is linked to revising and updating first impressions regarding monetary gain, while the insula is associated with the prediction of monetary loss.

All the participants were scanned while being offered various opportunities to buy, sell or express a preference for six different "highly desirable consumer products" tagged with one of 18 different possible prices. The items included an iPod, noise-canceling headphones, a digital camera, an alarm clock base, a flash drive, and a wireless mouse.

The authors found that NAcc activation increased both when a participant was buying or selling an item they said they "preferred". On the other hand, MPFC activity went up in tandem with price when selling, but moved in the opposite direction of price when buying.

They concluded that such brain patterns reveal that owning something does not, in fact, boost that item's attractiveness in the eyes of the owner. Rather, the mere fact of ownership colors the prism through which owners view their possessions, turning them into something they do not wish to lose, regardless of whether retaining the thing in question is a good economic decision.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, a professor of neuroscience and director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, said he felt the find
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