Some people tend to postpone tasks, although being aware of the adverse effects accompanying procrastination. Our individual ability to tackle tasks directly instead of putting them off is highly dependent on our ability to initiate cognitive-, motivational- and emotional-control mechanisms, so-called metacontrol. Even though individual differences in these metacontrol mechanisms have far-reaching influence our personal and professional life, their genetic foundation is somewhat unknown. Biopsychologists and human geneticists from the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Technology Dresden joined forces to explore the genetic foundations of interindividual differences in trait-like procrastination, measured as decision-related action control (AOD). The researchers investigated the individual AOD score as well as the genotype of 278 healthy adults. Here they were particularly interested in the tyrosine hydroxylase gene (TH gene). The expression of the TH gene influences the availability of neurotransmitters from the catecholamine family, including dopamine. Since dopaminergic signaling plays a significant role in various metacontrol processes, they aimed to examine whether genetically induced differences in the dopaminergic system are associated with interindividual differences in AOD. The analysis yielded a sex-dependent effect of TH genotype on AOD.
Interestingly, only in women, a genetic predisposition towards higher dopamine levels was associated with poorer action control and therefore the trait-like tendency to procrastinate. Additionally, the research group investigated whether differences in the morphology and functional connectivity of the amygdala that were previously associated with AOD happen to be related to differences in the TH genotype and thus to differences in the dopaminergic system. However, there was no significant amygdala volume or connectivity difference between the TH genotype groups. Therefore, this study is the first to suggest that genetic, anatomical, and functional differences affect trait-like procrastination independently.

Schlüter C., Arning L., Fraenz C., Friedrich P., Pinnow M., Güntürkün O., Beste C., Ocklenburg S. & Genc E.. Genetic variation in dopamine availability modulates the self-reported level of action control in a sex-dependent manner. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2019) 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz049