When the MIT researchers started working on habits in the 1990s\u2014
\nat about the same time that Eugene came down with his fever\u2014they
\nwere curious about a nub of neurological tissue known as the basal
\nganglia. If you picture the human brain as an onion, composed of layer
\nupon layer of cells, then the outside layers\u2014those closest to the scalp\u2014
\nare generally the most recent additions from an evolutionary
\nperspective. When you dream up a new invention or laugh at a friend\u2019s
\njoke, it\u2019s the outside parts of your brain at work. That\u2019s where the most
\ncomplex thinking occurs.<\/p>\n
Deeper inside the brain and closer to the brain stem\u2014where the
\nbrain meets the spinal column\u2014are older, more primitive structures.
\nThey control our automatic behaviors, such as breathing and
\nswallowing, or the startle response we feel when someone leaps out
\nfrom behind a bush. Toward the center of the skull is a golf ball\u2013sized
\nlump of tissue that is similar to what you might find inside the head of
\na fish, reptile, or mammal. This is the basal ganglia, an oval of cells
\nthat, for years, scientists didn\u2019t understand very well, except for
\nsuspicions that it played a role in diseases such as Parkinson\u2019s.
\nIn the early 1990s, the MIT researchers began wondering if the basal
\nganglia might be integral to habits as well. They noticed that animals
\nwith injured basal ganglia suddenly developed problems with tasks
\nsuch as learning how to run through mazes or remembering how to
\nopen food containers. They decided to experiment by employing new
\nmicro-technologies that allowed them to observe, in minute detail,
\nwhat was occurring within the heads of rats as they performed dozens
\nof routines. In surgery, each rat had what looked like a small joystick
\nand dozens of tiny wires inserted into its skull. Afterward, the animal
\nwas placed into a T-shaped maze with chocolate at one end.<\/p>\n
The maze was structured so that each rat was positioned behind a
\npartition that opened when a loud click sounded. Initially, when a rat
\nheard the click and saw the partition disappear, it would usually
\nwander up and down the center aisle, sniffing in corners and
\nscratching at walls. It appeared to smell the chocolate, but couldn\u2019t
\nfigure out how to find it. When it reached the top of the T, it often
\nturned to the right, away from the chocolate, and then wandered left,
\nsometimes pausing for no obvious reason. Eventually, most animals
\ndiscovered the reward. But there was no discernible pattern in their
\nmeanderings. It seemed as if each rat was taking a leisurely,
\nunthinking stroll.<\/p>\n
The probes in the rats\u2019 heads, however, told a different story. While
\neach animal wandered through the maze, its brain\u2014and in particular,
\nits basal ganglia\u2014worked furiously. Each time a rat sniffed the air or
\nscratched a wall, its brain exploded with activity, as if analyzing each
\nnew scent, sight, and sound. The rat was processing information the
\nentire time it meandered.<\/p>\n
The scientists repeated their experiment, again and again, watching
\nhow each rat\u2019s brain activity changed as it moved through the same
\nroute hundreds of times. A series of shifts slowly emerged. The rats
\nstopped sniffing corners and making wrong turns. Instead, they zipped
\nthrough the maze faster and faster. And within their brains, something
\nunexpected occurred: As each rat learned how to navigate the maze, its
\nmental activity decreased. As the route became more and more
\nautomatic, each rat started thinking less and less.<\/p>\n
It was as if the first few times a rat explored the maze, its brain had
\nto work at full power to make sense of all the new information. But
\nafter a few days of running the same route, the rat didn\u2019t need to
\nscratch the walls or smell the air anymore, and so the brain activity
\nassociated with scratching and smelling ceased. It didn\u2019t need to
\nchoose which direction to turn, and so decision-making centers of the
\nbrain went quiet. All it had to do was recall the quickest path to the
\nchocolate. Within a week, even the brain structures related to memory
\nhad quieted. The rat had internalized how to sprint through the maze
\nto such a degree that it hardly needed to think at all.<\/p>\n
But that internalization\u2014run straight, hang a left, eat the chocolate
\n\u2014relied upon the basal ganglia, the brain probes indicated. This tiny,
\nancient neurological structure seemed to take over as the rat ran faster
\nand faster and its brain worked less and less. The basal ganglia was
\ncentral to recalling patterns and acting on them. The basal ganglia, in
\nother words, stored habits even while the rest of the brain went to
\nsleep.<\/p>\n
To see this capacity in action, consider this graph, which shows
\nactivity within a rat\u2019s skull as it encounters the maze for the first time.
\nInitially, the brain is working hard the entire time:
\nAfter a week, once the route is familiar and the scurrying has
\nbecome a habit, the rat\u2019s brain settles down as it runs through the
\nmaze:<\/p>\n
This process\u2014in which the brain converts a sequence of actions into
\nan automatic routine\u2014is known as \u201cchunking,\u201d and it\u2019s at the root of
\nhow habits form. There are dozens\u2014if not hundreds\u2014of behavioral
\nchunks that we rely on every day. Some are simple: You automatically
\nput toothpaste on your toothbrush before sticking it in your mouth.
\nSome, such as getting dressed or making the kids\u2019 lunch, are a little
\nmore complex.<\/p>\n
Others are so complicated that it\u2019s remarkable a small bit of tissue
\nthat evolved millions of years ago can turn them into habits at all. Take
\nthe act of backing your car out of the driveway. When you first learned
\nto drive, the driveway required a major dose of concentration, and for
\ngood reason: It involves opening the garage, unlocking the car door,
\nadjusting the seat, inserting the key in the ignition, turning it
\nclockwise, moving the rearview and side mirrors and checking for
\nobstacles, putting your foot on the brake, moving the gearshift into
\nreverse, removing your foot from the brake, mentally estimating the
\ndistance between the garage and the street while keeping the wheels
\naligned and monitoring for oncoming traffic, calculating how reflected
\nimages in the mirrors translate into actual distances between the
\nbumper, the garbage cans, and the hedges, all while applying slight
\npressure to the gas pedal and brake, and, most likely, telling your
\npassenger to please stop fiddling with the radio.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, however, you do all of that every time you pull onto the
\nstreet with hardly any thought. The routine occurs by habit.
\nMillions of people perform this intricate ballet every morning,
\nunthinkingly, because as soon as we pull out the car keys, our basal
\nganglia kicks in, identifying the habit we\u2019ve stored in our brains
\nrelated to backing an automobile into the street. Once that habit starts
\nunfolding, our gray matter is free to quiet itself or chase other
\nthoughts, which is why we have enough mental capacity to realize that
\nJimmy forgot his lunchbox inside.<\/p>\n
Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly
\nlooking for ways to save effort<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Part b’ follows<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The power of habit<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n CHARLES DUHIGG<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the MIT researchers started working on habits in the 1990s\u2014 at about the same time that Eugene came down with his fever\u2014they were curious about a nub of neurological tissue known as the basal ganglia. 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