We've all been there…

You know you need to make that complaint phone call, but you cannot bring yourself to dial. Or there is a project your demanding boss assigned, and even though you know you should start, you just…can't. You’re stuck at the starting line, caught in that all-too-familiar sense of motivational paralysis.

Why is it so hard to just get started?

Now, scientists at Kyoto University's Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi) have discovered what's happening in the brain during these frustrating moments. The research team conducted research on macaque monkeys and identified a specific brain circuit that acts like a "motivation brake": a neural pathway connecting two brain regions (the ventral striatum and ventral pallidum) that kicks in when we are confronted with tasks that come with negative consequences. When the scientists temporarily disabled this circuit, the motivational brake released: tasks that were once avoided suddenly became approachable. This discovery may help explain why, for some people (such as those living with depression), starting even simple tasks can feel impossibly hard. By identifying the brain "switch" behind this motivational paralysis, researchers may be one step closer to developing new treatments that help people overcome this invisible barrier.

The research is led by Dr. Ken-ichi Amemori, Dr. Jungmin Oh, and Dr. Satoko Amemori, with Dr. Masahiko Takada (Professor, Center for Human Behavior Evolution Research; currently Professor Emeritus), Dr. Ken-ichi Inoue (Assistant Professor; currently Associate Professor at Nagoya City University), and Dr. Kei Kimura (Assistant Professor, Tohoku University). The findings of this study will be published online in Current Biology at 11:00 a.m. on January 9, 2026 (EST; January 10, 1:00 a.m. JST).

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