传统的神经科学观点认为，大脑是透过被动接收感官资讯并将其与记忆比对来进行分类。然而，神经科学家莉莎·费德曼·巴瑞特和厄尔·米勒提出了一个全新的框架，指出大脑更像是一个预测引擎，而非单纯的档案柜。他们认为大脑会根据感官、记忆以及身体当下的生理需求，不断地重建并投射类别到世界上，借此压缩庞杂的环境资讯。

这个新框架的核心在于预测编码与体内恒定性的概念。大脑不会等到感官完全辨识出物体才做出反应，而是会根据过往经验预测未来的状况，并事先准备好适当的行为与能量分配来维持生命。在这种情况下，类别实际上是为了支持当下生存任务而产生的行动计划，当实际的感官输入与大脑的预测不符时，就会产生预测误差，也就是我们所感受到的惊讶。

此外，这两位学者强调分类并非仅发生在特定的皮层区域，而是遍布整个神经系统的持续过程。他们提出边缘系统核心是这些预测讯号的来源，因为它与监控基本生理功能的下视丘紧密相连。当外部的感官讯号向大脑深处传递并被高度压缩时，会与来自体内预测能量需求的讯号在边缘系统交会，这种遍布全脑的讯号交互作用最终形塑了我们对事物的认知与分类。

Traditional neuroscience views categorization as a process where the brain passively receives sensory information and matches it against stored memories. However, neuroscientists Lisa Feldman Barrett and Earl Miller have proposed a novel framework suggesting the brain acts more like a prediction engine than a filing cabinet. They argue that the brain constantly reconstructs and projects categories onto the world based on senses, memory, and the body's immediate physiological needs, thereby compressing complex environmental data.

At the core of this new framework are the concepts of predictive coding and allostasis. Instead of waiting for the senses to fully identify an object, the brain uses past experiences to predict future conditions and proactively prepares appropriate behaviors and energy allocations to sustain life. In this context, categories are essentially action plans generated to support current survival tasks; when actual sensory input deviates from the brain's predictions, it creates a prediction error, which we experience as surprise.

Furthermore, the researchers emphasize that categorization does not occur solely in specific cortical areas but is a continuous process spanning the entire nervous system. They propose the limbic core as the source of these predictive signals due to its deep connection with the hypothalamus, which monitors basic physiological functions. As external sensory signals travel deeper into the brain and become highly compressed, they intersect with internal signals predicting energy needs at the limbic core, and this brain-wide interaction ultimately shapes our perception and categorization of the world.