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Inherent autonomic endowment is thought of as one of the nuclear apparatuses from which the primitive ego emerges, upon which subsequent formative influences impinge and with which they interact in the ultimate development of body and mental ego. This is seen as in keeping with Freud's inherited ego factors, and seems to corroborate Hartmann's concept of an 'undifferentiated stage' and of a 'conflict free sphere of ego development' as well as to support his formulation of ego autonomy.
Concerned with the general effect of inherent autonomic endowment on personality development, the author undertook an evaluation of sensitivity of erogenous zones in thirty-two neonates, using the reaction of the autonomic nervous system as a measure of sensitivity. There seemed to be suggestive experimental evidence that the oral area is the dominant erogenous zone in the neonate while oral sensitivity did not exclude sensitivity in other areas.
Individual differences in response to stimulation of the lips varied between non-reaction and hyperreaction. Non-reactors were not necessarily phlegmatic, but possibly too immature to respond. These varying degrees of sensitivity and autonomic reactivity constitute the primitive sensation levels from which the subsequent perception of oral activity develops. This is at first in terms of the autonomous factor in the conflict-free sphere of ego development (perception). It is conceivable that sensitivity and autonomic reactivity participate in id impulses, a hypothesis according with the concept of the 'undifferentiated stage'. Environmental influences, including the complx factor of the mother's personality, will also be experienced according to elements inherent in the endowment.
Certain infants hyperreacted in each of the zones stimulated, suggesting for instance that greater