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 ...

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, ...

Researchers have discovered that acetylcholine, a brain chemical released by specific striatal neurons, can directly trigger serotonin release. The study, conducted in mice and published in Nature ...

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 ...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a brain circuit that can drive repetitive and compulsive behaviors in mice, even when natural rewards such as food or social contact are ...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can affect children and adults. Obsessive thoughts are difficult to spot, but compulsive behaviors are usually more obvious. OCD often develops between the ages of ...

Only the most compulsive, addicted people will keep cheating in the face of social barriers. My Master’s thesis was on quitting smoking, and one interesting fact from that body of research was that ...