Luca Ronconi¹; ¹University of Trento

Neural oscillations in the alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) frequency bands play a fundamental role in coordinating feedback/re-entrant loops and large-scale cortical interactions. While alpha rhythms have been extensively associated with temporal and featural integration in visual perception, increasing evidence points to beta oscillations as crucial for spatial organization, motion processing, and visuo-spatial attention. Particularly, findings suggest that beta activity within poster parietal regions would sustain the functionality of the dorsal (“where”) visual pathway, providing fast preconscious spatial guidance over the slower ventral (“what”) stream. Crucially, this hierarchical dynamic might be crucial in guiding the extraction of letters/words identity and the oculomotor processes required for fluent reading. I will summarize recent evidence highlighting the role of beta oscillations as a neural code for dorsal pathway functions, integrating findings from human psychophysics, electrophysiology and neurostimulation. I will then present the results of a randomized clinical trial conducted in adults with developmental dyslexia (DD), a condition characterized by visuo-spatial and oculo-motor dysfunctions. The study employed bi-focal beta-band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over parietal areas, combined with a visuo-attentional training. As compared to a placebo/sham intervention, beta-tACS led to significant improvements in reading speed, oculomotor control, and visual motion perception, as well as long-term gains in visual/auditory working memory. Together, these findings provide converging evidence – from basic research to clinical application – supporting beta-band synchronization as a key mechanism for visuo-spatial and oculo-motor integration and a promising target for rehabilitating reading disorders.