Research provides new insights into how the brain forms habits and explains why they can be so difficult to break.

In psychology, obsessions are repeated and unwanted thoughts that cause anxiety. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors people perform to temporarily relieve this anxiety. For example, a person may ...

While the exact causes of OCD are unclear, researchers know that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in its ...

Once those obsessions start, they lead you to repeat behaviors over and over again, until they become compulsions, the “compulsive” part of the name. If you have OCD: Your obsessions and/or ...

Mental compulsions are repetitive acts played in the mind in response to intrusive, unwanted thoughts. Just like physical compulsions, these mental behaviors are intended to reduce anxiety or ...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involves the presence of both obsessions and compulsions, though both of these features might not be externally visible or present at the same time. For this ...

When a purchase is made, dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, is released, resulting in a ...

One of the study’s most intriguing claims is that intelligence, when not tied to biological life, may avoid the compulsions ...