You promise yourself you’ll finally tackle that awkward phone call or admin job, then suddenly your motivation vanishes.
New research suggests that this slump is not just “laziness”, but the action of a specific brain circuit that can slam on the brakes when a task feels unpleasant or stressful.
Why your brain would rather do anything than that one task
Most people delay things they find dull, embarrassing or vaguely painful, from tax returns to medical appointments. Psychologists call the chronic version of this pattern procrastination. In more severe forms, where almost any decision or action feels impossible, clinicians speak of avolition or abulia.
Avolition is common in conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. People describe feeling unable to initiate even simple actions, like making a phone call, opening an email or getting dressed, especially if those actions are linked with discomfort or effort.
Until recently, scientists did not know how the brain turns low motivation into a full-blown block, where a person wants to act but simply cannot start. A new study, published in the journal Current Biology, points to a precise mechanism.
The experiment that revealed the “motivational brake”
The research team worked with macaque monkeys, which share many features of human brain organisation. The animals were trained to perform a simple task in return for a reward.
There were two versions of the task:
- Reward only: completing the task led to a treat.
- Reward plus discomfort: the same treat, but also a brief, irritating puff of air to the face.
The difference in behaviour was striking. When the task brought only a reward, the macaques usually acted quickly. When the same task also carried the unpleasant air puff, they often hesitated, delayed or skipped it altogether, even though the reward did not change.
Two key regions: ventral striatum and ventral pallidum
| Brain area | Main role |
|---|---|
| Ventral striatum | Evaluates rewards and costs, tracks how appealing an action feels |
| Ventral pallidum | Helps translate motivation into action, influencing whether we initiate behaviour |
These two areas form a circuit: they constantly “talk” to each other while we weigh up whether something is worth doing. In the study, the researchers temporarily weakened the connection between the ventral striatum and the ventral pallidum.
Once that specific link was dampened, the macaques changed their decisions. Faced with the uncomfortable version of the task, they were suddenly more willing to get on with it. The air puff was still there, the reward was unchanged, yet the animals tolerated the annoyance and pressed ahead.
The hidden handbrake inside your motivation system
The findings suggest that this circuit acts as a kind of internal brake. When a potential action carries something stressful or aversive, the pathway between the ventral striatum and ventral pallidum can inhibit the “start” signal.
From a survival perspective, that makes sense. Avoiding danger and conserving energy helped our ancestors. Yet the same machinery can misfire in modern life, where many “threats” are paperwork, awkward conversations or demanding projects rather than predators.
In people with severe avolition, this brake may be stuck on. The cost side of the equation dominates so strongly that even modest discomfort blocks action, leading to paralysis in everyday tasks.
Could we one day treat extreme procrastination in the clinic?
The study’s authors suggest that, in the future, medical teams might try to adjust this brain circuit in people whose lives are severely restricted by avolition. Several approaches are under discussion:
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS), which uses implanted electrodes to modulate activity in targeted brain regions.
- Non-invasive brain stimulation, such as transcranial magnetic or electrical stimulation applied from outside the skull.
- New medicines aimed at tuning the signalling between the ventral striatum and ventral pallidum.
Early work in other conditions, like Parkinson’s disease, shows that DBS can help with movement initiation and sometimes with motivation. Adjusting the motivational brake might one day ease the burden for people who cannot start tasks even when they fully understand what needs to be done.
The risk of taking off the brake too far
Lead researcher Ken-ichi Amemori and colleagues stress that any intervention on this system needs extreme care. Blunting the brake mechanism too strongly could backfire.
If the brain stops weighing up discomfort and potential harm, a person might rush into dangerous activities, gambling, substance misuse or reckless spending. A balance has to be found between lifting disabling inertia and preserving healthy caution.
There are also ethical questions. Who decides when someone’s motivation is “too low”? How voluntary are treatments that change decision-making circuits? And how do we protect vulnerable patients from pressure to “perform better” by altering their brains?
What this means for everyday procrastination
For most people who occasionally put things off, this research does not lead straight to brain stimulation. Still, it offers a useful way to think about why certain tasks feel so hard to start.
When you delay a job you dislike, your brain is probably over-weighting the immediate discomfort compared with the future benefit. That discomfort can be physical (sitting in an uncomfortable chair), emotional (fear of criticism) or cognitive (heavy concentration).
Some practical strategies aim to nudge this brain circuit without invasive tools:
- Reduce the discomfort: work in a nicer space, break tasks into smaller steps, add music or a snack.
- Bring the reward closer: give yourself a clear, near-term payoff, like a break or something enjoyable after a work sprint.
- Change the story: reframing an unpleasant task as a way to protect your future self can shift how your brain values the outcome.
Key terms behind the science
Avolition . Clinical terms describing a marked lack of initiative and difficulty starting goal-directed behaviour. People with avolition may know what they should do, but feel unable to begin.
Motivational circuitry. Networks involving the ventral striatum, ventral pallidum and related regions. These circuits estimate costs and benefits, shaping how much effort we are willing to invest.
Deep brain stimulation. A neurosurgical technique where thin electrodes are implanted into specific brain areas and connected to a device that sends controlled electrical pulses.
Where research could go next
Future studies will likely test whether similar circuits operate in humans using brain scans, non-invasive stimulation and behavioural experiments. Researchers will want to see how this brake behaves in people with depression, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s, where avolition is common.
Another line of work will examine context. The brain may use slightly different rules when the “cost” is social embarrassment, physical pain or mental effort. Understanding those nuances could lead to more tailored therapies, and also to better psychological tools for anyone who feels stuck in front of an unpleasant task.
