Neuroplasticity and Habit Loops: How Your Brain Rewires Automatic Behavior

I studied cognitive science at Berkeley, and one of the ideas that stuck with me most is that we are not stuck with the habits we have. The brain is plastic, meaning it can change its structure and function based on experience [1]. But the brain also loves efficiency, which is why habits form in the first place.

A habit is defined as a learned action that is performed with minimal cognitive effort [2]. When you repeat a behavior in a specific context, your brain automates it to save energy for more demanding tasks [3]. Understanding how neuroplasticity builds and maintains habit loops gives you a better starting point for change [1]. You can explore guided sessions for calm habits to practice downshifting your nervous system while rehearsing new patterns.

What is a habit loop?

Habits are context dependent [3]. They strengthen through repetition and associations with cues from the surrounding environment such that their expression becomes dependent on the relevant cues [3]. Once habits form, the perception of the cue is sufficient to automatically trigger the response [3]. This is the classic habit loop: a cue triggers a routine, which delivers a reward. Over time, this loop becomes a stimulus-response (SR) association [4].

The historical definition of habits is that they are behaviors rooted in SR associations that have been acquired through learning based on reinforcement [4]. The behaviorists demonstrated that habits develop and are strengthened through repetitions of associative learning and reinforced responses [2]. Cognitive scientists showed the importance of automaticity in the formation of habits [2]. Because habits require minimal cognitive effort [2], they allow fast, efficient responding without significant cognitive demand [5]. This makes them incredibly useful for navigating daily life.

However, this automation comes at a cost. Transitions to habitual control are risky because they lead to inflexible responding in the face of change [5]. When the context changes but your brain is stuck in the same routine, you might find yourself acting against your own goals. Habits serve a critical purpose in making our behavior more efficient, reducing the decision burden we face each day and freeing up mental energy for more demanding tasks [3].

But in order to keep established habits from interfering with current needs and plans, the brain has to be able to use and switch between two different strategies: one based on habits and one based on goals [3]. The modern concept of habit was first clearly laid out by the psychologist William James in the late 19th century [3]. He described habit as a routine, behavior, or even cognitive process that starts spontaneously but is repeated automatically as a result of prior experience [3]. Habits do not require much cognitive input because they are performed quickly and automatically; they also tend to be relatively inflexible [3]. On the other hand, goal-directed behavior is performed based on predicted or expected outcomes, which allows for adaptation to changes in context [3].

The neuroscience of habit formation

Habits are not just psychological concepts; they have a physical basis in the brain. Mounting evidence suggests that habit formation is not a simple process but could be sculpted from multiple dissociable changes in neural activity [4]. These changes occur across multiple brain regions and even within single brain regions [4]. A key area involved is the basal ganglia, specifically the striatum, which is where skills and habits meet [6].

Research conducted on animals and patients has revealed spatially segregated functional regions within the basal ganglia that oversee the regulation of goal-directed and habitual actions [7]. The brain balances between goal-directed behavior, which is performed based on predicted or expected outcomes, and habitual behavior, which relies on established routines [5]. When a behavior is repeated, the brain can shift control from the goal-directed circuits to the habitual circuits [5]. This shift is a core feature of neuroplasticity in action [1].

Individual differences in habit learning rates may contribute to a variety of individual differences in reward seeking strategies [5]. This means some people may form habits more quickly than others, which could influence how easily they can change those habits later. In individuals affected by Parkinson’s disease, the decline in dopamine is primarily observed in the posterior putamen, a section of the basal ganglia connected to the regulation of habitual behavior [7]. As a result, these patients might be compelled to increasingly rely on the goal-directed mode of action control, which is facilitated by the remaining dopamine in the striatum [7].

This shows how specific and localized the brain's habit circuits can be. Automating a subset of routine behaviors by creating habits allows fast, efficient responding without significant cognitive demand, but leads to inflexible responding in the face of change [5]. Thus, the brain must decide when it is appropriate to create habits from repeated actions and when it is more advantageous to stay goal-directed [5].

Why habits are hard to break

Because habits are stored as automatic responses to cues, arguing with them using willpower is often ineffective. One study asked participants to record their actions every hour and found that nearly half of their actions were performed almost daily and in the same context [3]. This means a large portion of your day is running on autopilot. When you try to change a habit, you are fighting against established neural pathways that have been strengthened through repetition [2].

Maladaptive habit formation mechanisms have been hypothesized to contribute to a variety of neuropsychiatric problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and drug addiction [5]. In these cases, problematic behavioral sequences are repeatedly executed and are difficult to inhibit [5]. The exact contributions of habit per se to the particular symptoms of each disorder remain unclear [5], but the pattern shows how sticky automated behaviors can become.

Habits impact nearly every domain of our physical and mental health [2]. They impact our exercise frequency and intensity, when and how we sleep, what we eat, the content and patterning of our thinking, and how our attention is allocated [2]. Therefore, our habits hold a key to the major health challenges we all face as we attempt to fashion our lives to incorporate healthy habits and reduce or eliminate unhealthy habits [2].

When a habit is deeply ingrained, the brain has essentially decided that this action is efficient enough to be released from cognitive control. The question of how the brain controls transitions into habit is an intriguing one [5]. How do we regulate when our repeated actions become automated? [5] When is it advantageous or disadvantageous to release actions from cognitive control? [5] Decades of research have identified a variety of methods for eliciting habitual responding in animal models [5].

Using neuroplasticity to update habits

If habits are built through repetition and context, we can use those same principles to build new ones. The brain can harness neuroplasticity for behavior change [1]. To disrupt an unwanted habit, you have to change the context or the response to the cue [3]. Because habits are context dependent, altering the environment can weaken the automatic trigger [3].

To develop a desired habit, you need to repeat the new action in a consistent context until it becomes automatic [2]. This process leverages the same associative learning that built the old habit [2]. An implicit goal of evidence-based psychological treatments is to disrupt unwanted habits and develop desired habits [2]. There has been insufficient attention given to habit formation principles in the development of these treatments, but the basic science offers clear guidance [2].

By understanding the ingredients central to habit formation, you can apply these principles to your own life [2]. The more details of our daily life we can hand over to the effortless custody of automatism, the more our higher powers of mind will be set free for their own proper work [2]. Progress has also been made to understand which brain areas and neural circuits control transitions into habit [5]. By combining information from different paradigms and levels of analysis, researchers are prompting further progress in the field [5].

You can apply this same logic to your own life. If you want to build a habit of reading before bed, make the cue consistent: turn off screens at the same time each night, sit in the same chair, and open the book. The repetition in a specific context is what builds the SR association [4]. Over time, the perception of the cue will be sufficient to automatically trigger the response [3]. The same applies to breaking a habit. If you want to stop snacking in the afternoon, change the context. Go for a walk instead of visiting the kitchen. By altering the environment, you weaken the automatic trigger [3].

The role of state in habit change

State precedes story. When your nervous system is stressed, it is harder to override automatic behaviors. Hypnosis and guided audio sessions can support wellbeing by helping to downshift the nervous system and narrow attention. In this state, the brain may be more receptive to rehearsing a vivid, specific alternative to the old habit.

While hypnosis does not cure or treat conditions, it can be a tool for practicing the new patterns you want to automate. By combining a relaxed state with mental rehearsal, you are using neuroplasticity to wire new associations [1]. The brain constantly predicts incoming signals and updates when they do not match. By vividly rehearsing a new response to an old cue while in a relaxed state, you are providing the brain with a new prediction to update.

Hypnosis is not sleep, not unconsciousness, and not loss of control. It is a state of narrowed attention and absorption. When you are in this state, the brain is more open to suggestion and rehearsal. You can vividly imagine performing the new habit in the context where the old one used to fire. This mental rehearsal uses the same neural pathways as physical practice, helping to wire the new associations [1].

By downshifting the nervous system first, you reduce the stress that often drives unwanted habits. This makes it easier to stick with the new pattern until it becomes automatic. The goal is not to fight the old habit, but to give the brain a better alternative to automate.

Key takeaways

• Habits are learned actions triggered by contextual cues that require minimal cognitive effort [2][3].
• The brain balances flexible goal-directed behavior with efficient habitual control [5].
• Nearly half of daily actions are performed almost daily in the same context [3].
• Changing a habit requires altering cues and repeating new responses in a consistent context [2][3].
• A downshifted nervous system may make it easier to rehearse and wire new automatic behaviors [1].

Ready to update your automatic habits? Try a guided session to downshift your nervous system and rehearse new patterns. Explore calm habits sessions

Sources & Further Reading

1. Harnessing Neuroplasticity for Behavior Change. commonfund.nih.gov. http://commonfund.nih.gov/sites/g/files/mnhszr341/files/FINAL_SOBC_Sept_2013_neuroplasticity_report_REV_2-25-14v2.pdf
2. Harvey AG, Callaway CA, Zieve GG et al. (2022). Applying the Science of Habit Formation to Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments for Mental Illness. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621995752
3. Mendelsohn AI (2019). Creatures of Habit: The Neuroscience of Habit and Purposeful Behavior. Biological psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.978
4. Smith KS, Graybiel AM (2016). Habit formation. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2016.18.1/ksmith
5. Lerner TN (2020). Interfacing behavioral and neural circuit models for habit formation. Journal of neuroscience research. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24581
6. Graybiel AM, Grafton ST (2015). The striatum: where skills and habits meet. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a021691
7. Zikereya T, Shi K, Chen W (2023). Goal-directed and habitual control: from circuits and functions to exercise-induced neuroplasticity targets for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Frontiers in Neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1254447