Abstract:

Established as a widespread problematic behavioral and a stable individual tendency across time and different contexts, procrastination is harmful to the procrastinator’s psychological, physical, and financial well-being. Given the cognitive mechanism of procrastination is unclear and methodologies in previous studies was dated, we are developing studies from a behavior-brain-gene perspective, using a multi-modal MRI (Task, Resting, VBM and DTI) methodology and considering HTR2B gene as a breakthrough direction, to reveal the cognitive mechanisms, neural mechanisms and hereditary basis of procrastination systematically. In addition, we intended to design interventions for procrastination as well. Our studies will includes four aspect: (1) from a behavioral perspective, we are exploring the cognitive mechanism of deciding to procrastinate by combining paradigm of dread studies with intertemporal choice task; (2) from a neural perspective, we are using a multi-modal MRI methodoloty to reveal the neural mechanism of procrastination; (3) from a genetic perspective, we are utilizing molecular genetic methods and taking the HTR2B gene as our targeted gene to disclose the genetic mechanism of procrastination and test a mediating role of neural structure or function between hereditary basis and procrastination; (4) Considering intervention for procrastination and malleability of brain, we also intend to design training program to reduce procrastination and test procrastination related neural plasticity.

Key words: procrastination, prospective emotion, multi-modal MRI, HTR2B gene, intertemporal choice