For years, compulsive behaviors have been viewed as bad habits stuck on autopilot. But new research in rats found the ...

Domestic horses sometimes engage in stereotyped behaviors (a repetitive movement that appears to have no purpose or function.) In horses, these behaviors may include cribbing, pawing, head shaking, ...

In a recent study published in Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) found that inflammation in a key decision-making region of the brain led to more ...

New research suggests that compulsive behavior may be less about willpower failure and more about inflammation quietly disrupting the brain’s reward and habit circuits. While the idea of “hidden brain ...

Is compulsive behavior common in people with Alzheimer’s or dementia? When someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, many aspects of his or her life are forced to change and will ...

Compulsive behaviors are actions that are engaged in repeatedly and consistently, despite the fact that they are experienced as aversive or troubling. Yet treatment can help to manage or overcome ...

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), a leading cause of neurodevelopmental disorders, may affect as many as 1 in 20 school-aged children in the United States. Despite its prevalence, the exact ...

A specific pattern of brain activity in a frontal brain region is linked to compulsive behaviors like excessive hand washing, ...

One of the early conversations I have with people trying to change addictions and compulsive behaviors is, “What pushes your buttons?” Many times, with an expression of frustration and loss, the ...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. It causes a person to have intrusive, distressing thoughts, which they manage using compulsive behaviors. For example, a person, who fixates ...