After reading this and other threads in the forum, following pretty much the same theme, at the end of the day just where are we? 

I'm left with the deep seeded feeling of not trusting anyone, not reading anything, not looking at anything or listening, all because someone out there is seeking power in controlling me.

I thought I left that all behind when as a young man I left home never to return.

That's like saying they tested the antibiotic on someone else, while you're taking it.

Surprise, but they're testing it on you, too, only more indirectly.

They are intruding into your mind by extension, and their hypothesis is that in those 200 ms your mind will give similar results. The fact you were not informed by them they're doing that is unethical as well.

So all this time, the voices in my head have been commercials??? 

In fact, their results are startling even so far as to detect the fundamental, cross cultural and racial differences between male and female thinking.

Their EEG work is so phenomenal that they're even working on EEG control of computers and a wheel chair (neone6 - that one was for you). I even wrote about that (wheel chair) before, and an Israeli company which was developing the software to do just that.

That is why there are so many law suits about drugs.  They test them, but no 2 people are the same, so they will constantly refine it.

And here you thought you were having revelations!

That's some weird scary shit Doc. 

 I couldn't help but think of that image when reading your post.

No.... you're just nuts

Funnily enough, though, I often hear people singing/whistling jingles from TV ads.................... BANG!!!!!!

Makes me wonder what's in their heads???  A classic rock tune, yeah... a great classical piece... yeah.

But a f**king commercial?    Nah!!!!!

Advertisers - like bankers - have a lot to answer for... and I mean A LOT

Thanks. Never would have known.

This has to do (the OP) with the initial and 'honest' reaction to stimuli. And enough.

The wheel chair stuff I threw in for neone6, and also because scientists from one the companies doing this stuff are actually doing something good.

Yikes.

I'm a cognitive scientist, and I have to put my two cents in, here. I can't help but think that your reaction is somewhat overblown. Advertisers have been using the principles of psychology to market things to you ever since Watson left the field for this line of work more than a half a century ago. I know that the idea that looking into the brain seems scary, but just remember that brain activity is only an intermediate step in the relationship between advertising and consumer behavior. And brain activity only matters inasmuch as it is able to explain and predict consumer behavior, which, again, advertisers have been doing for more than half a century.

This is not mind control, people. Am I honestly the only one that feels this way?

The arguement presented in the OP and in many of the replies can be debunked point-by-point with actual data, if anyone is interested.

From everything I've read, it's not easily 'debunked'. From what I've read, their results sell products. I feel it's an unethical way to do it from reasons already cited. Those stem from medical ethics.

Nowhere have I stated there's 'mind control'. If you believe that, I certainly don't.

What I do believe is that these methods breach ethics since targeted audiences are unaware of the methods employed to produce the ads, and that these methods are effective. Look, if they weren't getting results, would these big selling companies be using them? I don't think so... simply because sales statistics would show them ineffective. That's just common sense. I'm not using 'post hoc ergo procter hoc' logic.

I'm just pointing up things that are happening and my own feelings about them. If you have concrete evidence that shows what I've read as incorrect, I'd be happy to read it. My mind isn't closed about this. I enjoy learning and I'd be glad to hear what you have to say about the processes used and their results.

About the ethics, I pretty much have decided, though. They aren't 'result oriented'.