Of course, not just any advertiser can afford to bring a brainwave research team in-house. The cost of an average neuromarketing research project starts out at about $50,000, with more expensive tests topping the six-figure mark; add in construction costs, and the price of setting up an on-site Neurolab can feasibly eclipse a company’s entire annual marketing budget.

So who can justify a million dollar-plus investment on nascent research in this economy? (Well, Nielsen for one. The ratings and media giant took a stake in NeuroFocus early last year, though that was before Wall Street imploded). Patel said there was “high interest” from large companies in the CPG, consumer electronics and financial services industries, though she didn’t disclose the actual number of Neurolabs that had been constructed. Tom Robbins, the company’s director of content, said that requests for the on-site labs had come in on a “steady basis” since the company launched the service in mid-2008.