INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE 

 ON NERVE ACTIVITY 



By Tracy J. Putnam 

 Columbia University, New York, N. Y. 



It is my pleasant duty to open a conference which is, in several 

 respects, historic. 



In the first place, this is, as far as I am aware, the first truly inter- 

 national conference on a purely physiologic or, in the broad sense, 

 medical subject, since the beginning of the war. I see, in the audience, 

 five continents represented, and I can reproach the program commit- 

 tee and myself only for failing to arrange for a delegate from Africa. 

 It is my special privilege to welcome Dr. Eccles from Australia, Dr. 

 Feng from China, Drs. Fessard, Couteaux, and Bugnard from France, 

 and Dr. Bremer from Belgium, who have come so far for the special 

 purpose of taking part in this symposium. 



The fact that we are all met here from various corners of the earth 

 to discuss problems of pure science with a humanitarian purpose sym- 

 bolizes, it seems to me, the hope of this troubled world, the hope that 

 civilization is beginning to recover from a desperate and destructive 

 illness, which barely missed being fatal. A relapse might well be final. 

 But here we are, ready, willing, and able to talk over some questions 

 which are of great importance, but definitel}^ non-political. It is to be 

 expected that differences of opinion will arise, and facts will be hotly 

 debated. I feel certain, nevertheless, that the members of this confer- 

 ence will be able to set an example for future international discussions, 

 in agreeing on the criteria of truth and the means of arriving at an 

 agreement on facts, with a broad tolerance towards possible means of 

 interpretation. Let us hope that the United Nations Organization will 

 take notice and be willing to learn. 



This meeting opens a wholly new vista, in another sense, also. At 

 the time when the German Army crossed the Polish border, in 1939, 

 there seemed to be little hope of bridging the gap between the point of 

 view that transmission of the nervous impulse was a purely electrical 

 phenomenon, and on the other hand, the conception that the production 

 of a specific chemical substance was the essential fact. The atmosphere 

 of the war was not in the least conducive to placid scientific 



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