A common belief is that compulsive behaviors trap people in a “habit loop” that takes over self-control. New research, however, suggests this explanation may be incomplete.
For many years, compulsive behavior has been explained as people becoming trapped in a “habit loop” that takes over self-control. New research from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), based on studies in rats, challenges this long-standing assumption.
Compulsive behaviors appear in a wide range of mental health conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorders, and gambling disorder. In these cases, people continue repeating certain actions even when they know the consequences are harmful. Together, these conditions affect millions of people around the world.
Why habits were blamed for compulsion
Senior author and behavioral neuroscientist Dr. Laura Bradfield explained that habits normally serve an important purpose. They allow people to operate on autopilot during routine activities, such as brushing their teeth or driving a familiar route, freeing mental resources to focus on other things.
“However, if we are driving and a child steps onto the road, then we suddenly become aware of our surroundings and focus on what we are doing. This involves taking back conscious control, thinking about possible outcomes, and adjusting our behavior,” said Dr. Bradfield.
“With compulsive behaviors such as handwashing or playing poker machines, the scientific view has been that these behaviors have become entrenched habits, so it is difficult for people to break free and take back cognitive control.
“Brain imaging studies show it’s common for people with compulsive disorders to have inflammation in the striatum, a brain region involved in choosing actions, so we decided to test whether inducing inflammation in this region in rats would increase habitual behavior.”
Inflammation shifts decisions away from habit
The study, led by Dr. Arvie Abiero as part of his PhD research at UTS, and recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology, tracked how rats learn and control their actions and found that triggering inflammation in the striatum shifted behavior toward more deliberate, effortful decision-making rather than habit.
“Surprisingly, the animals became more goal-directed and continued to adjust their behavior based on outcomes, even in situations where habits would normally take over,” said Dr. Bradfield.
The research team traced this effect to astrocytes – star-shaped cells in the brain that support neurons. Inflammation caused these cells to multiply and interfere with nearby groups of neurons that control movement and decision-making.
Rethinking the roots of compulsion
The research will be of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, patients, and caregivers working with compulsive disorders. The findings suggest that, in some cases, compulsive behavior may come from too much (albeit inappropriate) deliberate control rather than too little.
The study suggests that drugs that target astrocytes and reduce neuroinflammation, as well as broader anti-inflammatory measures such as exercise or getting better sleep, could offer new avenues for treatment.
“There’s a lot of compulsive behavior that doesn’t fit neatly into the habit hypothesis. If someone is continually washing their hands because they are worried about germs, they are not doing this without thinking, they are consciously choosing to make that effort,” said Dr. Bradfield.
“Our findings offer a new explanation for these behaviors, which goes against the accepted view. Based on this, it’s possible that new treatments and interventions can be developed that more effectively treat these diseases and disorders,” she said.
Reference: “Dorsomedial striatal neuroinflammation causes excessive goal-directed action control by disrupting astrocyte function” by Arvie Rodriguez Abiero, Joanne M. Gladding, Jacqueline A. Iredale, Hannah R. Drury, Elizabeth E. Manning, Christopher V. Dayas, Amolika Dhungana, Kiruthika Ganesan, Karly Turner, Serena Becchi, Michael D. Kendig, Christopher Nolan, Bernard Balleine, Alessandro Castorina, Louise Cole, Kelly J. Clemens and Laura A. Bradfield, 27 September 2025, Neuropsychopharmacology.
DOI: 10.1038/s41386-025-02247-4
This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project DP200102445 awarded to LAB, and the National Health and Medical Research Council grants GNT2003346 awarded to LAB, GNT2028533 awarded to KMT and LAB, GNT1147207 awarded to BWB and CVD, and GNT2020768 awarded to CVD and EM.
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