Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a framework for understanding and altering habits by examining the brain's automatic and goal-directed systems. The study suggests that habits form when automatic responses overpower conscious control, leading to both everyday action slips and compulsive behaviors. Strategies like repetition, environmental adjustments, and implementation intentions can help make or break habits. This research has implications for personal development, clinical treatments, and public health campaigns, offering a new approach to behavior change by aligning with the brain's natural mechanisms.
Researchers have identified malfunctions in two critical brain systems—the "filter" and the "predictor"—in individuals with psychosis, shedding light on the underlying brain mechanisms. By studying young individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, the research offers insights into how these dysfunctions occur, potentially guiding future treatments and prevention strategies. The findings suggest that dysfunction of these brain systems makes it difficult to distinguish reality, leading to symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. The study used advanced imaging and machine learning to confirm these dysfunctions, providing potential new targets for therapeutic interventions and offering implications for understanding and possibly preventing psychosis.
A study led by Stanford Medicine has found that two key brain systems are malfunctioning in individuals with psychosis, leading to difficulties in distinguishing reality and manifesting as hallucinations and delusions. The dysfunction of these systems affects the brain's ability to filter important external events and internal thoughts, as well as predict rewards. The study used brain scan data from individuals with a rare genetic disease called 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and those with psychosis of unknown origin, shedding light on the underlying brain mechanisms and theoretical frameworks related to psychosis. The findings may have implications for understanding and potentially preventing schizophrenia, as well as for monitoring the effectiveness of existing antipsychotic medications.
