NeOsReDy PROJECT

FRRB Project 1751150 - Restoring neural oscillatory communication between dorsal and ventral visual streams in developmental dyslexia

Name and Surname of PI

Luca Ronconi

Project Acronym

NeOsReDy

Project ID

1751150

Host Institution

IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele - Milan

Pathology of Interest

Developmental Dyslexia

Research Area

Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Project Start Date

14 June 2021

Project End Date

13 June 2024

Funding

€ 599.540,00

Type of Project

Individual

PROJECT SUMMARY

Developmental dyslexia (DD) is a multifactorial disorder that hampers the education of about 10% of individuals across cultures and is associated with both phonological and visual deficits. The latter have been linked to dysfunctions of the magnocellular-dorsal (M-D) visual pathway, which plays a critical role in guiding the extraction of letters/words position during reading. The research group of the P.I. has recently shown that oscillatory brain activity in the beta band (15-30 Hz) is a fundamental mechanism for the functionality of the M-D pathway, and that the application of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in the parietal cortex within a beta frequency improves the segmentation of letters in conditions of visual crowding, paving the way for new types of treatments for DD. In the present project, we will test the efficacy of parietal tACS, combined with reading training, in adult participants with DD, evaluating brain changes induced by this new treatment with psychophysiological techniques.