Effect of a Television Commercial on the Autonomic Nervous System

As shown in cases of photosensitive epilepsy, audio-visual stimuli can have various effects on the human body. However, until now, there have been no reports investigating the effect of television commercials on the human body. In this study, for which we obtained ethical approval, we are the first ones to investigate the effect of television commercials on the human cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems. Cardiovascular and autonomic nervous functions were evaluated using the human face blood flow analyzing system invented in Tohoku University (Jpn.Pt. 4789203, 5161671, 5390851, 5408751). No epilepsy and no patho-physiological reactions were observed after viewing of soft TV commercials including commercials from the advertising awards. Autonomic nerve responses were shown to be altered depending on the interests and preferences of the viewer. Our results suggest that assessing the response of the human body to TV commercials will become a key aspect of the process of creating TV commercials.