Latent-cause inference in compulsivity and its impact on habits
Official title: Project 2: Latent-cause inference in compulsivity
Funded at Princeton University · NIH-11373044 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study at Princeton will explore how the brain’s reasoning about hidden causes influences compulsive behaviors like OCD and problematic drinking, with the goal of finding new ways to break rigid habits.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Princeton University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Princeton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 12, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $492,376 |
| NIH project number | 5P50MH136296-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11373044 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with anxiety disorders or compulsive/substance-use patterns who can participate in behavioral tasks and related assessments.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not experiencing compulsive or anxiety-related symptoms or those unable to complete the behavioral tasks may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project looks at why some people develop hard-to-stop habits, by testing a theory that people infer hidden causes behind their experiences and that this affects how goals are valued across different situations. Researchers will use computational models and behavioral tasks to see if narrow inferences about latent causes keep people stuck in habitual actions. The team will examine how these mechanisms relate to compulsive behaviors seen in anxiety-related conditions and substance use, aiming to identify new targets for therapy. Findings could point to novel approaches that help people adapt their behavior across contexts, rather than relying on rigid habits.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to new treatments that help people break persistent compulsive habits by adjusting how they learn from different contexts.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research supports the idea that context-specific learning influences habit strength, but the latent-cause framework is a novel angle for this area.
Where this research is happening
-
Princeton University
Princeton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zald, David Harold — Princeton University
- Study coordinator: Zald, David Harold
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.