The general problem of dissipation in macroscopic large-amplitude collective motion and its relation to energy diffusion of intrinsic degrees of freedom of a nucleus is studied. By applying the cranking approach to the nuclear many-body system, a set of coupled dynamical equations for the collective classical variable and the quantum mechanical occupancies of the intrinsic nuclear states is derived. Different dynamical regimes of the intrinsic nuclear motion and its consequences on time properties of collective dissipation are discussed.