Evening star., 1911-08-31
BIRTH OF THE MIND.
Experiments on q Thousand New
Born Children.
From the Literary Digest.

rom the Literary Digest.
As the result Of series of expert
ments on over thousand newborn chill
dren in New York recently. Mr.. Frederick
Peterson concludes that while some men
tai characteristics do not develop until
after birth, some are present at birth and
others exist, at least potentially. and per-
haps even actually, before BIRTH More
over, all children are alike in these re-
spects, so that so far as their stock of
mental Impressions goes they are actual
ly born equal" Experiments of this
kind have been carried out before, but
never on more than fifty infants at a
time. In the present case tests were de-
v1sed to determine the first appearance
OF the various senses and sensatio and
the material observed was carefully clas-
sified as regards the age and maturity of
the infants, and according to certain ex-
traneous circumstances. Says the Medi-
cal Record, In an editorial report:
"Sensfbility to light seems to be pres
ent in most infants at birth, and this is
the case even in those prematurely born.
ceive Impressions some time before birth
at full term. Sensibility to sound was
found to be quite as apparent as sensi-
bility to light at birth, for 276 normal
white children reacted to sound on the
first day Of life. and 146 reacted to light
similar condition existed among the
premature infants. many reacting to
sound on the first day as we'll as to light
The auditory nerve is. therefore, likewise
prepared to receive impressions Of sau,t.
before the period Of normal birth. rEls
seems wholly contrary to the opin'o., of
other authorities. The gustator. nerve
was found to react differently 20 salt.
sweet, bitter and sour substances at
birth. The Olfactory nerve was OBJ
served to receive Impressions in newborn
children at term, and likewise in prema-
ture infants. Reactions to touch. tenn
perature or other painful stimuli were
infants. but Peterson believes that SEN
sitiveness to painful stimuli, although
present, is more vague and uncertain
than In later life, which leads many to
assume that the sense Of pain Is dulled
IN the newborn. An Interesting fact was
also observed as regards the sensations
of thirst and hunger, which were fire.
quently noted on the first day, although
the actual need of food was sometimes
apparent only after the first or second
day. Discomfort seemed to be clearly
marked when nourishment was not forth
coming even in some Of the premature in
fants.
There seems to be good ground for be-
liev1ng that the newborn child comes into
the world with q small store of expert
ences. and associated feelings and shad-
owy consciousness. The fact that even in
premature infants the senses are found to
De pT0pdIcu LOT TIE TcCcptlOH OF impress
sions is believed by Peterson to consti-
tute evidence that such impressions have
been already received and stored in the
dim storehouse OF a memory already be-
gun. He even goes so far as to say that
possibly some sort of vague light impress
sions have been received. on the sup
position that in the interior OF the body
alterations of day and night may, in a
mild degree, be manifested. He bases this
supposition on the transillumination of
the hands by a candle, and Of the frontal
sinuses and antrum by the electric light.
claiming that sunlight will attain an even
greater penetration than any artificial
light. He believes that there is even a
greater possibility in the stimulation Of
the auditory sense by sounds produced
within the body Of the mother. possibly
through the medium Of bone conduction' .
In addition. the writer believes that all
children start out in life on a common
plane, as he discovered no differences in
this respect between the children Of diff
ferent parents, or between those Of differ
ent races. even between negroes Ind
whites.