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DISCUSSION: Dr. Herbert Weiner commented on the significance of the EEG evidence in some isolation studies, and the fact that recent work has cast serious doubts on the homology of EEG desynchronization with alertness. He questioned Dr. Holt's assertion that the cortex cannot make use of potential informational inputs unless there is tonic activation or desynchronization, since we know virtually nothing of the informational content of incoming cortical impulses except in the visual system. While it is true that tonic activity in the reticular activating system increases following activity in specific pathways, in 1961 Huttenlocker showed that spontaneous activity in single reticular neurons was lower during waking than during sleep. In Dr. Weiner's opinion the neurophysiological evidence cited in the paper does not hold up adequately at this time. However, he felt that the autonomy concept may require some revision, especially a clarification as to its specific meaning.
Dr. Milton Horowitz differed with Dr. Holt in his understanding of the history of science. New scientific theories and new scientific observations do not necessarily supplant old ones; they often merely complement old theories which may be perfectly suitable for a given set of conditions. This is particularly important in relation to Dr. Holt's apparent advocacy of scrapping the concepts of ego autonomy, psychic energy, and the psychological model of the mental apparatus. Hartmann's and Rapaport's publications rather than being polemics