According to a new study in Archives of General Psychiatry, two regions of the brain go on high alert when a hoarder is forced to decide whether to keep something they own or throw it away.
This response is quite different from people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder and from people without any mental disorder at all.
On Early Start this morning, CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains the new study and explains why many hoarders get upset when they are offered help with their problem.