Study finds common ground between predictive neuroscience with psychoanalysis

Modern neuroscience and psychoanalysis may have more in common than previously thought, according to a new study suggesting that one of today's leading theories of brain function closely mirrors ideas first proposed by pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

Published in the journal Entropy, the study argues that integrating modern neuroscience with psychoanalytic theories developed over the past century could provide a more comprehensive understanding of how the human mind functions.

At the center of the research is the predictive processing model, a dominant theory in contemporary neuroscience that describes the brain as a prediction-making organ. Rather than passively responding to the world, the brain continuously generates expectations about future events and updates them based on incoming sensory information.

Researchers from the University of Oslo say this constant cycle of prediction and adjustment shapes perception, behavior, and emotional regulation.

The authors—Erik Stänicke, Bendik Hovet, Line Indrevoll Stänicke, and colleagues from the university's Department of Psychology—argue that this framework closely resembles long-standing psychoanalytic theories about how people interpret and experience reality.

"For over 130 years, psychoanalysis has developed psychological theories about how predictions take place at a subjective level, which cognitive neuropsychology is now studying at a physiological level," the researchers wrote.

According to the study, the two fields describe many of the same mental processes from different perspectives. While neuroscience focuses on the brain's biological and computational mechanisms, psychoanalysis examines how those processes are experienced subjectively.

The researchers point to the psychoanalytic concept of projection as one example of this overlap.

"When we attribute qualities, intentions or feelings to other people, our brain shapes our experience of the world in line with established expectations," Stänicke said.

They argue that previous experiences gradually shape expectations about future relationships and social interactions.

"This corresponds to the neuroscientific distinction between changing one's own predictions, perceptual inference, and the attempt to make the world conform to them, namely active inference."

Implications for mental health

The study also identifies similarities in how both neuroscience and psychoanalysis explain psychological stability.

Both approaches suggest that the mind seeks homeostasis—a stable psychological state. Within predictive neuroscience, this is achieved by minimizing uncertainty, with the brain relying on established expectations to make sense of the world.

Psychoanalytic theory offers a comparable perspective.

"Psychoanalysts refer to the tendency in the mind to recreate familiar relational patterns, even when these are poorly adapted," Stänicke said.

The researchers argue that combining the two frameworks could improve understanding of mental disorders.

"Rigid and persistent symptoms, such as paranoid ideas or an internalized critical voice, may be stable but not very flexible prediction models," Stänicke said.

According to the authors, deeply ingrained mental patterns can persist because they reduce uncertainty, even when they distort a person's perception of reality. From this perspective, both predictive neuroscience and psychoanalysis help explain why meaningful psychological change often requires time and sustained therapeutic intervention.

By Nazrin Sadigova