
Essentials: Compulsive Behaviors & Deep Brain Stimulation | Dr. Casey Halpern
From Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media
May 7, 2026 · 38 min
About this episode
Dr. Casey Halpern discusses the use of deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation in treating various compulsive behaviors and disorders.
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Casey Halpern, MD, a professor of neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. We discuss how deep brain stimulation and other neuromodulation approaches are being used to treat Parkinson's disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), binge eating disorder and depression-related symptoms. We also explore the brain circuits that drive compulsions, cravings and impulsivity, as well as emerging non-invasive tools for predicting and treating harmful behaviors. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Rorra: https://rorra.com.huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Casey Halpern (00:00:20) Neurosurgery, Deep Brain Stimulation (00:04:19) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) & Treatments (00:10:11) Sponsor: Function (00:11:49) OCD Brain Areas, Addiction (00:14:12) Nucleus Accumbens, Risk & Rewards; Binge Eating Disorder (00:18:28) Sponsor: AG1 (00:19:46) Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (00:27:31) Sponsor: Rorra (00:28:46) Awareness of Cravings, Severe Binge…
People in this episode
Host: Andrew Huberman
Guest: Dr. Casey Halpern
Topics covered
- deep brain stimulation
- compulsive behaviors
- neuromodulation
- OCD treatment
- binge eating disorder
- brain circuits
- predicting behavior
Keywords
- deep brain stimulation
- OCD
- binge eating disorder
- neurosurgery
- neuromodulation
- impulsivity
- cravings
- predictive tools
Sponsors
AG1, Function, Rorra
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Perelman School of Medicine
More episodes of Huberman Lab
- Essentials: Sleep Toolkit for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing · June 11, 2026 · 39 min
- Eating for Better Sleep & Foods that Improve Metabolic Health | Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge · June 8, 2026 · 1h 57m
- Essentials: Psychedelics & Neurostimulation for Brain Rewiring | Dr. Nolan Williams · June 4, 2026 · 41 min
- Peptides: The Science, Uses & Safety | Dr. Abud Bakri · June 1, 2026 · 2h 49m
- Essentials: The Science & Process of Healing from Grief · May 28, 2026 · 40 min
- Build Muscle, Great Posture & Resilience to Injury | Jeff Cavaliere · May 25, 2026 · 2h 17m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Huberman Lab podcast page.