Habits form far faster than previously thought, research shows
· Medical Xpressby Doug Donovan, Johns Hopkins University
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From responding to the ping of your phone notification to reaching for a snack at the end of the day, many everyday behaviors begin as mindful choices and end up feeling almost automatic. Now a study from Johns Hopkins University, published in Nature Communications, suggests that such shifting may not always happen slowly.
Rethinking how habits really form
Scientists have long believed that habits emerge gradually after long periods of repetitive behavior. But the research shows that the transition into habitual action occurs faster than previously understood. The work also suggests that a particular brain region may play a key role in the transition—a discovery that could point to ways to alter entrenched habits.
"For over 100 years, the theory of how habits form has been one of gradual strengthening and repetition: You do enough repetitions and slowly, over time, the brain starts to realize, 'I don't need to be thinking about this anymore,'" said Kishore V. Kuchibhotla, senior author on the paper and a neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals. "But the reason scientists tend to think of it as a gradual process is because of how we have studied it."
A new way to test motivation
Research studies often use rewards to motivate animals to learn and perform a task. Once the task is learned, animals can be given free access to the reward and become satiated. When returned to the task, a goal-directed animal will typically stop performing it, since it no longer seeks the reward. In contrast, a habitual animal will perform the task automatically, regardless of whether the reward is needed.
This traditional approach required testing at specific time points (one earlier in learning and one later in learning). They could not test "in real time" when the habit transition actually occurred and then assumed that it must have been gradual.
Kuchibhotla and his research team designed a new method that was closer to everyday motivation. People do not drink only because they are thirsty. They might reach for sparkling water or a favorite drink because it is simply more appealing than plain water.
"We essentially motivated them by something else—a taste preference," Kuchibhotla said.
How mice suddenly flipped strategies
The new testing method gave mice constant access to acidic water while they resided in their home cages, allowing them to remain hydrated even if they did not love the water's taste. If the mice responded to a certain sound, they got the water they preferred.
Because the mice were not overly thirsty, they would sometimes respond to the sound that gave them water and sometimes not. The researchers proved this was because they were goal-directed (they would only behave when they wanted the plain water). Then, at a particular moment in time, they switched their behavior—they would always respond to the sound that gave them water even if they didn't want it. What the researchers found is that the transition happened suddenly—like a switch had been flipped.
"What surprised us most is that nothing changed on our end. The animals simply switched strategies from one trial to the next. Capturing that kind of rapid behavioral reorganization is rare," said lead author Sharlen Moore, a postdoctoral fellow in the university's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
The brain switch behind habits
Further recordings of the mice brains revealed something fascinating: the brain region that might just house that switch.
"The fact that it is so sudden implies that something is controlling it," Kuchibhotla said.
The team also found that some mice returned to goal-directed behavior after long periods of habitual behavior.
"It really shows how much our methods shape what we see: When we stop over-motivating the animals, we start to uncover aspects of behavior that were basically hidden before," Moore said.
What this could mean for bad habits
The team's discovery of a possible switch has resulted in plans to study the nature of this possible controller.
"Many habits are helpful for freeing up your mind for other things. But that's not always the case. The fact that there may be a controller means maybe we can reverse maladaptive habits back to goal-directed behavior," Kuchibhotla said. "Rather than thinking of habits as always being there no matter what, it's possible that bad habits need not be there forever."
Publication details
Sharlen Moore et al, Revealing abrupt transitions from goal-directed to habitual behavior, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71048-0
Journal information: Nature Communications
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