Historical and Modern Perspectives on the Neuroscience of Habits

Habits are a crucial part of our daily lives. When they are aligned with our goals, they allow us to conserve cognitive resources so that we can perform routine behaviors without thinking, but when they are goal-misaligned, they can be counterproductive and prevent us from responding adaptively. This chapter provides a brief overview of historical and modern perspectives on habit and the role of neuroscientific methods in helping to uncover the neural systems that drive habitual behavior. While results have been mixed regarding the neural correlates of goal-directed versus habitual behavior, there is evidence that points to potential networks that are involved in each of these processes. A caudate-prefrontal circuit appears to drive goal-directed behavior, while a putamen-motor loop appears to support habitual control, and this latter system may be particularly important due to its role in cue sensitivity. Overall, dual-system theories of habitual behavior are shifting toward a more integrated framework where multiple systems work together to guide behavior. Consistencies and discrepancies in neural findings are discussed, as well as important directions for future work.