For years, compulsive behaviors have been viewed as bad habits stuck on autopilot. But new research in rats found the opposite: inflammation in a key decision-making brain region actually made ...

What comes to mind when you read the word "addiction?" Does it make you think of repetitive use of alcohol and drugs despite negative consequences? Or do you think of shopping, sexual activity, video ...

In a recent article published in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers performed longitudinal studies in rats to measure the sensitivity of early established versus compulsive polydipsic alcohol (or water ...

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 ...

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 ...

Although anger is not a core symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), it is a common experience in people with OCD. OCD involves intrusive thoughts and feelings, and a person uses compulsive ...

My daughter has compulsive tendencies but also oppositional behavior, meaning we fight efforts to help her. What strategies might we use to help her stop despite her fighting us? —A concerned parent ...