Breaking Habits

Doing things by habit and breaking habits are not just matters of willpower. The process of moving from habits to a goal-directed action is being studied by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Cliffside Malibu follows such studies closely in an effort to keep our treatment program as effective and cutting edge as possible.

Published by Nature Communications, one study showed researchers that the shift of changing habits likely occurs in a different region of the brain than previously thought; they think the shift happens in the region that is also associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This information has huge implications for OCD, addiction research and other mental health issues.
“While habits are important to efficient-decision making, we encounter situations in which it is necessary to ‘break habits’ and re-evaluate actions based on their consequences,” said the study’s first author, Dr. Christina Gremel of the NIAAA Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience. “These findings give us insight into the neural basis of such adaptability.”
In the study, researchers designed an instrumental feeding task where mice would switch between habitual and goal-oriented behavior. This helped them to more deeply study the mechanisms involved when the mice shifted action strategies. The ability to shift between routine behavior and new actions are necessary for decision making in daily human life.
“Our findings indicate that shifts in activity of the orbital frontal cortex and the striatum mediate the shifting between goal-directed and habitual actions,” said the study’s senior author, Rui Costa, Ph.D., of the Champalimaud Foundation, in Portugal and a guest researcher at NIAAA. “Interestingly, these neural circuits appear to work in parallel, enabling both automatic and goal-directed actions to be learned.”
Why should we care where change occurs in the brain? As we better understand how the brain functions, we are able to create therapies that target specific parts of the brain – to help change stick. This could have tremendous application to relapse prevention in addicts and overall addiction treatment, so it warrants further research.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/niaaa-research-highlights/neuroscience-habit-breaking

When you recognize harmful patterns and seek treatment, you can increase your chances of leading a healthier life. Cliffside Malibu is here to support you in your search for an alcohol-free life. We believe you deserve to have a private, comfortable and luxurious environment as you navigate your journey to a sober life. Our center allows you to explore your mental health needs, creates a treatment plan that is unique to you and allows you to discover beneficial coping skills. To learn more about alcohol treatment at Cliffside Malibu, call (855) 403-5641.