Clinical Logic*

Clinical Logic is the most popular Interactive Lunch Workshop session in the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association where junior neurologists can learn from expert neurologists in the diagnosis of rare neurologic disorders or unusual presentation of common neurologic diseases. This year, we will have 4 senior neurologists from Harvard, Penn, Emory and Brown discussing the fine points of the neurologic diagnosis. Traditionally, the logic behind a neurologist’s diagnosis begins with history and the formulation of a number of differential diagnoses. The neurologic examination provides localization of the disease process, or a lack of it. This cognitive process helps to eliminate some of the differential diagnoses. Diagnostic tests will narrow down the differential diagnoses further so that the neurologist can arrive at the most likely diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment. Advances in diagnostic tests and neuroimaging have enabled neurologists to do just that and future AI software may also help. Most importantly, clinical acumen is a learned skill that is cumulative in a neurologist’s career.