Claire Gillan
Professor in Psychology
Trinity College Dublin
Theories about the role of the brain’s habit system in compulsive disorders have been around for decades. Although progress has been made, most research has focused on goal-directed processes, i.e., the brain systems that help rein in habits. This is because habits themselves, although perhaps the most ubiquitous mode of action selection, remain among the most difficult phenomena to study empirically. This has led to a lack of mechanistic clarity in leading theories of compulsion and a prevailing ‘deficit’ model centred on decreased functioning of prefrontal brain regions that support cognitive control. This overlooks the potential adaptive value of a potentiated habit system in compulsivity: the rapid acquisition of stimulus–response representations that promote early automaticity, efficiency, and functional advantage. In this talk, I discuss new research that aims to remedy this and reveals ‘hidden habits’: patterns detectable through behavioural and electrophysiological methods, both inside and outside the lab, in healthy and transdiagnostic populations. Across various temporal horizons, I convey a mechanistic account of the role of habit in compulsive disorders that separates state from trait, risk from resilience, and benefits versus costs. Given the clear benefits of habits in everyday life, I conclude by considering what a neurodiversity-informed framework for compulsivity might entail.
View a recording of this session here.