The product of researchers' efforts to develop a computer processor which distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information in the database, Spreading Activation Processor for Information Encoded in Network Structures (SAPIENS) exhibits (1) context sensitivity, (2) efficiency, (3) decreasing activation over time, (4) summation of activation, and (5) an activation threshold for each node that determines whether it will transmit activation to other nodes. Used for natural language processing, when given several input words, SAPIENS can quickly identify from its 16,000 word database a set of 10 to 20 relevant words without extensive searching. SAPIENS could be employed in other artificial intelligence domains as well. (MM)