en Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive Neuroscience Original Original <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="line-height:2;"><strong>Introduction:</strong> This study investigated the roles of sustained attention and cognitive inhibition in consumers&rsquo; food-purchasing behavior on a simulated multi-sided online platform, using behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) indicators.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> Thirty healthy right-handed adults (18&ndash;30 years) participated. Sustained attention and cognitive inhibition were assessed via the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Stroop Test. EEG signals (64-channel) were recorded during a two-stage task: food image observation and purchase decision-making (&ldquo;Buy&rdquo;/&ldquo;Not Buy&rdquo;). Spectral power (delta, theta, alpha, beta) was analyzed using EEGLAB and Welch&rsquo;s method. Data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression in SPSS.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> Behavioral findings revealed a significant negative correlation between sustained attention and buying behavior (r = &minus;0.326, p = 0.039), explaining 10.7% of the variance. Cognitive inhibition was not significantly related to purchasing decisions. EEG analysis showed widespread activation across all frequency bands during the observation stage. Conversely, the decision-making stage exhibited more localized activity in theta and alpha bands, suggesting selective engagement of attentional and evaluative neural networks during the choice process.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Sustained attention appears more critical than cognitive inhibition in shaping purchasing decisions among typical consumers. Neural evidence indicates a transition from broad perceptual activation during stimulus exposure to focused fronto-parietal activity during evaluation. These results highlight the importance of attentional mechanisms in consumer choice and provide practical insights for neuromarketing and the design of digital shopping environments.</span></span></span></div> <span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="direction:rtl"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN" dir="LTR" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></span> Sustained attention, Cognitive inhibition, EEG, Decision-making, Consumer neuroscience 0 0 http://bcn.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-8591-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Shakiba Abdollahi shakiba.abdollahii@gmail.com 13700319475328460057944 13700319475328460057944 Yes Department of Psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Ali Bonyadi Naeini bonyadi@iust.ac.ir 13700319475328460057945 13700319475328460057945 No Faculty of Economic and Progress Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran Seyed Ruhollah Hosseini r_hosseini@um.ac.ir 13700319475328460057946 13700319475328460057946 No Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran