This VIDI-project examines why people under stress revert to maladaptive habits, such as eating large amounts of high-caloric food in a short time (bingeing). We looked at brain structures involved in such habits under stress using neuroimaging techniques and using pharmacologically manipulations of the brain’s reward system. We also examined whether binge eating patients show more habits under stress. We demonstrated that increasing dopamine and noradrenaline can reverse brain activity that regulates goal-directed versus habitual behavior. Patients who suffer from binge eating episodes were not particularly vulnerable to bad habits when stressed, compared to healthy control participants.