Human tool-making capacities reflect increased information-processing capacities: Continuity resides in the eyes of the beholder.

Natural Language Processing

Computer processing of a language with rules that reflect and describe current usage rather than prescribed usage.

Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems

A concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

Decision Support Systems, Clinical

Computer-based information systems used to integrate clinical and patient information and provide support for decision-making in patient care.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing

A technique that induces the processing of disturbing memories and experiences, by stimulating neural mechanisms that are similar to those activated during REM sleep. The technique consists of eye movements following side-to-side movements of the index and middle fingers, or the alternate tapping of the hands on the knees. This procedure triggers the processing of information, thus facilitating the connection of neural networks.

Neural Networks (computer)

A computer architecture, implementable in either hardware or software, modeled after biological neural networks. Like the biological system in which the processing capability is a result of the interconnection strengths between arrays of nonlinear processing nodes, computerized neural networks, often called perceptrons or multilayer connectionist models, consist of neuron-like units. A homogeneous group of units makes up a layer. These networks are good at pattern recognition. They are adaptive, performing tasks by example, and thus are better for decision-making than are linear learning machines or cluster analysis. They do not require explicit programming.