Got rhythm… for better and for worse. Cross-modal effects of auditory rhythm on visual word recognition

► Auditory beats influenced visual word recognition both positively and negatively. ► On-beat presentation of the correct first syllable improved word recognition. ► On-beat presentation of misleading syllabic information aggravated processing costs. ► Covert auditory attention specifically tapped visual recognition processes. ► Rhythmic attention may reflect human brain resonance to external periodicities.