Andrew Huberman with Dr. Casey Halpern
For severe OCD and binge eating that resist treatment, researchers are recording brain signals during compulsive urges to test whether precisely timed stimulation could help patients regain control.
Compulsive behaviors like hand-washing, binge eating, and drug seeking share a common neural denominator involving an urge pursued despite clear risk.
The nucleus accumbens and its connections to the prefrontal cortex act as a gatekeeper for reward-seeking behavior, which becomes malfunctioning in compulsive states.
Deep brain stimulation works by delivering targeted electrical currents to specific subcortical structures, mimicking the way a localized medication might reset a malfunctioning circuit.