WordNet
n. the network in the reticular formation that serves an alerting or arousal function [syn: RAS]
Wikipedia
The reticular activating system (RAS), or extrathalamic control modulatory system, is a set of connected nuclei in the brains of vertebrates that is responsible for regulating wakefulness and sleep-wake transitions. As its name implies, its most influential component is the reticular formation.
Usage examples of "reticular activating system".
It is here, too, that the sensory filter is located, which we have been referring to as the reticular activating system (see p.
So the whole collection of extravert-introvert traits, with all that they said about one's character, could be traced back to a group of cells in the brain stem called the ascending reticular activating system, the area that ultimately determined levels of cortical arousal.
If, however, the matching process reveals their similarity to previously stored models, the cortex shoots signals to the reticular activating system, instructing it, in effect, to hold its fire.
Superconducting quantum interference devices that interfaced with specific neurons in the reticular activating system, the elaborate network in the brain that filtered sensory data, setting up a virtual model of the STP software and downloading data through it.
But there is further involvement to the neocortex through the RAS, the reticular activating system, and the corpus collosum.