A Production Rule System For Neurological Localization

A rule-based program for localization of damage to the central nervous system was developed to evaluate MYCIN-like production system methodology. The program uses the results of the neurological examination of unconscious patients to categorize them in a manner familiar to clinicians. A collection of rules was found to be a poor representation for neurological localization knowledge because such information is conceptually organized in a frame-like fashion and is very context-dependent. Rule understandability was improved through the use of "macropredicates" and by the development of a natural inference hierarchy. The role of production systems as a model of human cognition is discussed.