Brain Circuit Says 'Not Now': How a Neural Brake Drives Procrastination
TL;DR Summary
New study in monkeys identifies a ventral striatum–ventral pallidum circuit that suppresses action when a task promises discomfort, and shows that temporarily disrupting this pathway with a drug restores motivation, offering insight into procrastination and implications for mental health while underscoring the circuit's protective role against burnout.
- Neuroscientists Decipher Procrastination: A Brain Mechanism Explains Why People Leave Certain Tasks for Later WIRED
- Can't Get Started on a Daunting Task? This Brain Circuit That Slams the Brakes on Motivation Might Be to Blame Smithsonian Magazine
- Why Finding Motivation Is Often Such a Struggle Nautilus | Science Connected
- Macaque Monkeys Could Unlock the Brain Secrets Behind Motivation — and Inspire New Mental Health Treatments Discover Magazine
- Could a Brain “Brake” Explain Why We Procrastinate on Stressful Tasks? NBC Palm Springs
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