I think it's perseveration. I was once married to a psychiatrist who used the word a lot.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/perseveration

1. Psychology
a. Uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder.
b. The tendency to continue or repeat an act or activity after the cessation of the original stimulus.

perseveration
(pɜːˌsɛvəˈreɪʃən)
n
1. (Psychology) the tendency for an impression, idea, or feeling to dissipate only slowly and to recur during subsequent experiences
2. (Psychology) an inability to change one's method of working when transferred from one task to another



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Note added at 2 hrs (2014-12-16 18:33:37 GMT)
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I found two examples of 'perseveration' translated as "perseverancia" on Linguée:

http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish/search?source=auto&qu...

E: Gets stuck on a single topic or task (perseveration) mercydesmoines.org
S: Se dedica a un solo tema o tarea (perseverancia)

E: b7653 Stereotypes and motor perseveration functions of spontaneous, non-purposive movements such as repetively rocking to and [...]
sustainable-research.org
S: b7653 Estereotipias y perseverancia motora funciones relacionadas con los movimientos espontáneos, no intencionados, tales como [...]