More than a century ago, Sigmund Freud developed his ideas about the mind. Now, some researchers believe modern brain science is finding similar patterns.
A new paper in the journal Entropy suggests that Freud's ideas, and later psychoanalytic theories, are much like a key neuroscience concept. This concept is called the "prediction paradigm."
The Brain as a Prediction Machine
The prediction paradigm describes the brain as always trying to guess what will happen next. It then works to close the gap between what it expects and what it actually senses. This process is vital for how we see things, act, and manage our emotions.
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Start Your News DetoxErik Stänicke, Bendik Hovet, and Line Indrevoll Stänicke from the Department of Psychology, along with their team, say these ideas are very similar to how psychoanalysis has described our inner mental life for over 100 years.
Stänicke noted that psychoanalysis has explored how predictions happen at a personal level. Now, cognitive neuropsychology is studying this at a biological level.
Shared Ground: Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience
The researchers believe both fields are looking at the same basic processes, but from different angles. Neuroscience uses math and biology to explain brain activity. Psychoanalysis looks at how these experiences feel and are understood inside us.
They point to "projection" in psychoanalysis as a good example. Projection is when we assign our own qualities or feelings to others. Stänicke says this is like "predictive processing" in neuroscience.
He explained that past experiences with people shape how we approach new relationships. This matches the neuroscience idea of changing our predictions versus trying to make the world fit our predictions.
Both fields also agree that the mind seeks stability and predictability. This is known as homeostasis, or psychological balance.
The brain reduces uncertainty by using what it expects. This makes the world feel more understandable. Psychoanalysts call this the mind's tendency to repeat familiar relationship patterns, even if they are not helpful.
Mental Health and Prediction Models
Stänicke thinks this connection could help us understand mental disorders better.
He suggests that strong, unchanging symptoms, like paranoid thoughts or a harsh inner critic, might be stable but inflexible prediction models. For example, some people might always expect criticism or rejection. They then interpret situations through this filter, even if reality doesn't support it.
These mental patterns continue because they reduce uncertainty, even if they twist reality. This could explain why mental health conditions are often hard to change.
Stänicke also noted that both models show how our expectations are stored not just as conscious thoughts, but also in our "procedural memory." This memory affects how we react and interact with others.
Because of this, psychotherapy sometimes needs to work on relationships. New experiences with a therapist can slowly help change old relational patterns.
The researchers believe predictive neuroscience could give psychoanalysis a brain-based foundation. In return, psychoanalytic theory could help neuroscience understand how predictions are felt and shown in relationships.
Stänicke concluded that combining these fields could lead to a more complete psychology. This would include both brain mechanisms and personal experience, helping us understand our inner world in a more scientific way.
Deep Dive & References
Freud’s Model of the Mind Within a Predictive Processing Neuroscientific Paradigm - Entropy, 2026
