University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2023 Apr 1;35(4):571-587. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_01967.
Despite good intentions, people often fail to cross the "intention-behavior gap," especially when goal achievement requires repeated action. To bridge this gap, the formation of automatized routines may be crucial. However, people may differ in the tendency to switch from goal-directed toward habitual control. To shed light on why some people succeed in forming routines while others struggle, the present study related the automatization of a novel, daily routine to individual differences in white-matter connectivity in corticostriatal networks that have been implicated in goal-directed and habitual control. Seventy-seven participants underwent diffusion-weighted imaging and formed the daily routine of taking a (placebo) pill for 3 weeks. Pill intake was measured by electronic pill boxes, and participants filled out a daily online questionnaire on the subjective automaticity of this behavior. Automatization of pill intake was negatively related to striatal (mainly caudate) connectivity with frontal goal-directed and cognitive control regions, namely, ventromedial pFC and anterior cingulate gyrus. Furthermore, daily pill intake was positively related to individual differences in striatal (mainly caudate) connectivity with cognitive control regions, including dorsolateral and anterior pFC. Therefore, strong control networks may be relevant for implementing a new routine but may not benefit its automatization. We also show that habit tendency (assessed with an outcome-devaluation task), conscientiousness, and daily life regularity were positively related to routine automatization. This translational study moves the field of habit research forward by relating self-reported routine automatization to individual differences in performance on an experimental habit measure and to brain connectivity.
尽管人们意图良好，但他们常常无法跨越“意图-行为差距”，尤其是在目标实现需要重复行动时。为了弥合这一差距，形成自动化习惯可能至关重要。然而，人们在从目标导向控制向习惯控制转变的倾向方面可能存在差异。为了阐明为什么有些人能够成功地形成习惯，而有些人却在挣扎，本研究将一种新的日常习惯的自动化与皮质纹状体网络中与目标导向和习惯控制相关的个体差异的白质连通性联系起来。77 名参与者接受了弥散加权成像，并在 3 周内形成了每天服用（安慰剂）药丸的日常习惯。药丸摄入量通过电子药丸盒测量，参与者每天在线填写关于该行为主观自动化的问卷。药丸摄入量的自动化与纹状体（主要是尾状核）与额叶目标导向和认知控制区域（即腹内侧前额叶皮质和前扣带回）的连通性呈负相关。此外，每天的药丸摄入量与纹状体（主要是尾状核）与认知控制区域（包括背外侧和前额叶皮质）的连通性存在个体差异呈正相关。因此，强大的控制网络可能与实施新习惯有关，但对其自动化过程可能无益。我们还表明，习惯倾向（通过结果评价任务评估）、尽责性和日常生活规律性与习惯自动化呈正相关。这项转化研究将习惯研究领域向前推进了一步，将自我报告的习惯自动化与实验习惯测量的个体差异以及大脑连通性联系起来。
