A long-held view is that compulsive behaviors involve individuals getting stuck in a "habit loop" that overrides self-control, but new research in rats from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) ...

Some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) experience a type of compulsion called compulsive counting. These individuals may feel the need to count objects, people, or actions.

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 ...

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 ...

Out-of-control sexual behaviors have existed throughout history, yet their official recognition only came much later. Some of the old terms you might have heard include satyriasis, nymphomania, and ...

What counts as an addiction — should compulsive shopping or gaming qualify? Researchers are currently debating whether to classify problematic behaviors as addictions in the next edition of psychiatry ...