Procrastination is a prevalent and universal problematic behavior, largely impairing individual's health, wealth and well‐being. Substantial studies have confirmed that conscientiousness, one of the big five personality, showed markedly inverse relation with procrastination. However, it is hitherto unknown about the neural basis underlying the impact of conscientiousness on procrastination. To address this issue, we employed the voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) and resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) methods to explore the neural substrates of conscientiousness responsible for procrastination (N = 330). In line with previous findings, the behavioral results showed a strong negative correlation between conscientiousness and procrastination (r = −.75). The VBM analysis found that conscientiousness was positively correlated with gray matter (GM) volumes in the left dorsal‐lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), right orbital frontal cortex (OFC) and right putamen, but negatively correlated with that in the left insula. Moreover, the RSFC results revealed that both dlPFC‐IPL (inferior parietal lobule) and dlPFC‐PCC (posterior cingulate gyrus) functional connectivity were positively associated with conscientiousness, while the functional connectivity of parahippocampal gyrus (PHC)‐putamen and insula‐IPL were negatively associated with conscientiousness. More importantly, the structural equation modeling (SEM) integrating RSFC results were well fitted for the influence process of conscientiousness on procrastination by both self‐control (i.e., dlPFC‐IPL, dlPFC‐PCC) and motivation pathways (i.e., PHC‐putamen, insula‐IPL). The current findings suggest that self‐control and motivation could be the two neural pathways underlying the impact of conscientiousness on procrastination, which provides a new perspective to understand the relationship between conscientiousness and procrastination.

中文翻译：

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责任心对拖延的影响：自我控制和动机神经通路之间的相互作用

拖延症是一种普遍且普遍的问题行为，在很大程度上损害了个人的健康、财富和福祉。大量研究证实，作为五大人格之一的尽责性与拖延呈显着负相关。然而，迄今为止，关于责任心对拖延的影响背后的神经基础是未知的。为了解决这个问题，我们采用基于体素的形态测量 (VBM) 和静息状态功能连接 (RSFC) 方法来探索导致拖延的责任心的神经基础 ( N = 330)。与之前的研究结果一致，行为结果显示尽责性和拖延之间存在强烈的负相关（r= -.75）。VBM 分析发现，尽责性与左背外侧前额叶皮层 (dlPFC)、右眶额叶皮层 (OFC) 和右壳核的灰质 (GM) 体积呈正相关，但与左脑岛的灰质 (GM) 体积呈负相关。此外，RSFC 结果显示 dlPFC-IPL（顶下小叶）和 dlPFC-PCC（后扣带回）功能连接与尽责性呈正相关，而海马旁回（PHC）-壳核和岛叶-IPL 的功能连接与责任心相关。与责任心呈负相关。更重要的是，整合 RSFC 结果的结构方程模型 (SEM) 非常适合自我控制（即 dlPFC-IPL、dlPFC-PCC）和动机途径（即，PHC-壳核、岛叶-IPL）。目前的研究结果表明，自我控制和动机可能是责任心对拖延的影响的两条神经通路，这为理解责任心与拖延之间的关系提供了新的视角。