In a meeting with the psychology professor, Steph reports having a hard time staying awake during lectures and sometimes experiencing the feeling of uncontrollably falling asleep while sitting at a desk. Steph's sleepiness may be due to the cells firing slowly in the .

Reticular activating system

Explanation:

The reticular formation refers to the network of neurons formed through the neurons of the brainstem and medulla.

The reticular system is not an anatomical structure but is present in the brainstem of the brain. The reticular formation on the upper side form the reticular activating system and on the lower side has the nerve fibres of the spinal cord.

The reticular system controls the consciousness ad arousals like mood and sleep. In the given question, the sleep of the professor, therefore, could be due to the slow firing in the reticular formation.

Thus, Reticular activating system is the correct answer.

Reticular formation- brain stem structure associated with sleep, arousal, attention

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