Zoubida Chettouh

Abstract The first phase of feeding consists in acquiring solid foods from the environment by biting, and their preparation for swallowing by chewing. These processes are achieved by the precise coordination of tens of orofacial muscles for the jaw and tongue. The siege for this motor patterning is known to be in the reticular formation, a complex and poorly mapped region of the hindbrain, but the neuron groups involved are still elusive.

eLife assessment This useful study compares gene expression patterns among different autonomic ganglia and will be of interest to developmental neuroscientists and neurophysiologists. The study expands the database of genes expressed by subpopulations of autonomic neurons in ganglia, a key step in decoding their developmental origins and physiological functions.