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About the Cover
Neustadter, Drushel, Crago, Adams and Chiel (pp. 3177-3206) have created a three-dimensional reconstruction of the buccal mass (the feeding apparatus) of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica during a single swallowing cycle. The reconstruction is based on magnetic resonance images taken during feeding behavior in intact animals and on kinematic rules deduced from studies of isolated components of the buccal mass in vitro. These reconstructions make it possible to infer the movements of many of the individual muscles of the buccal mass and how these movements generate swallowing behavior. The model suggests that the function of some muscles of the buccal mass may change with their surrounding mechanical context, which has significant implications for understanding the neural control of this structure.
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