Colin Camerer is a pioneer in the study of how brain activity drives economic decisions. Deep in a lab at Virginia Tech University, a study participant is enclosed in a cylindrical fMRI brain scanner. He chose to sell an artificial asset, while a participant in another fMRI machine — similar to an MRI but designed specifically to measure changes in blood flow to the brain — kept hers. And as they evaluated potential trading options, the fMRI technology recorded their brain activity. Just as football coaches pore over video of athletes, Colin Camerer would later scrutinize the brain signals of these participants from the other side of the country at CalTech. The year was 2011, and Camerer was eyeing the brain regions that show activity when people trade in order to gauge the implications for price bubbles — which is when a good is overvalued, and a sharp contraction follows. Camerer was singing this tune before the infamous burst of the housing bubble in 2008. The last 20 years have been great for rebutting the skeptics of neuroeconomics, the behavioral economics professor says with a chuckle. “Markets melting down,” he jokes, flapping his hands wildly. “It’s almost like if you study crime and have arsons and serial killers.” | 
