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A brief review of the anatomic, physiological, and psychological aspects of the development of the auditory apparatus has been presented and an attempt has been made to integrate these data with certain aspects of developmental ego psychology. An expansion of a portion of existing theory has been submitted. That expansion consists of the concept that the first indication of ego function is the capacity for delay observed in the restless infant upon hearing the sound of his mother's voice, an event observable several weeks before the onset of the smiling response. I would like to suggest that this thesis be further tested by experimental methods such as those worked out by Brazelton and his co-workers. Such studies should use observers trained in ego psychology and psychoanalysis, as Mahler and her associates did at the Master's Children Center, or as Ernst Kris did at the Yale Child Study Center (see Ritvo et al., 1963).
Finally, I hope that by advancing this revision of theory, our skills in preverbal reconstruction may be furthered and our understanding