Drowsiness Alters the Neural Dynamics But Not the Core Computations of Multisensory Integration

Abstract

Fluctuations in alertness shape perception and behavior, yet how they affect the brain's ability to integrate information across senses remains poorly understood. Here we investigated whether multisensory integration is preserved as humans transition from wakefulness to sleep. Participants (18 females, 8 males) performed an audio–tactile detection task, while electroencephalography tracked spontaneous declines in alertness. Behaviorally, multisensory stimulation continued to facilitate responses during drowsiness, despite slowing and increased omissions. Although race model predictions were consistent with preserved evidence for multisensory integration, event-related signatures of multisensory interactions were attenuated or no longer detectable during drowsiness. Crucially, multivariate decoding showed that multisensory neural representations remained detectable, although less temporally stable, and early cross-state generalization revealed shared representational structure across alertness levels, indicating preserved core multisensory computations. These findings show that multisensory integration remains functional but dynamically altered as alertness declines, revealing how the brain maintains adaptive behavior during the wake-to-sleep transition.