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habits

·April 25, 2022·4 min read

People Overlook the Influence of Habits, Like Drinking Coffee

People may underestimate the role of habit in their behaviors, including coffee consumption, researchers say. The automatic triggering of a behavior, such as a person's morning routine of coffee consumption, versus conscious intent is what makes a behavior a habit.

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·February 7, 2022·3 min read

A Yet Unknown Neural Mechanism of Habit Formation Identified

Study provides insight into the behavioral function of dopamine signaling in the striatum.

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·February 27, 2020·5 min read

How the brain forms habits

As the brain starts to develop new habits, activity in the dorsolateral striatum increases. As the activity bursts increase, the habit becomes stronger. Inhibiting neural activity with optogenetics reduces habit behaviors in mice.

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·January 28, 2019·2 min read

Train the Brain to Form Good Habits Through Repetition

According to researchers, forming both good and bad habits depends more on how often you perform an action than the satisfaction you get from the action.

Image shows a cartoon of a person brushing their teeth.

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·February 8, 2018·5 min read

Distinctive Brain Patterns Help Habits Form

MIT researchers have identified neurons that fire at the start and conclusion of a behavior as it becomes a habit.

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·November 30, 2017·4 min read

Helping the Brain Prune Bad Habits

Emory researchers report a drug approved in Japan for stroke, can help to stimulate neural pruning and help reduce habit driven behaviors in mice.

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·May 26, 2016·4 min read

How the Brain Makes and Breaks Habits

Researchers report they have identified a neural pathway involved in switching between habitual behavior and deliberate decision making.

Image shows a magnified view of a mouse striatum.

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·January 21, 2016·5 min read

Why It’s So Hard to Break Habits

A new study reveals habits leave lasting marks on specific brain circuits, priming us to feed our cravings.

Drawing of a small child sucking her thumb.

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·September 30, 2015·2 min read

Infants Resort to Habits When Stressed

A new study reports that it's not just adults who resort to habits when under stress, infants do too. Additionally, less cognitive flexibility children have due to stress could impact their acquisition of knowledge.