The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT; [22]) is a neuropsychological test used to assess arithmetic aspects of working memory and attention.
To further characterize any brain regions fitting either profile, in separate runs participants performed tasks tapping mental arithmetic, spatial and verbal working memory, and several varieties of cognitive control.
In general, anything that increases arousal also elicits a pupillary dilation: sexy pictures, mental arithmetic, keeping something in working memory, effortful listening, etcetera (reviewed in Beatty, 1982; Goldwater, 1972; Laeng et al., 2012).
Both groups underwent a neuropsychological assessment focussing on numerical abilities (quantity processing, arithmetic fact retrieval, complex mental and written calculation, transcoding, arithmetic set-shifting, calculation span), working memory and executive functions.
So we've been collaborating with John Duncan recently, looking at some of our data where we have a whole suite of difficult and easy conditions across language tasks, spatial working memory tasks, arithmetic, you name it.
In this state, the PFC shows hypoactivity during working memory or arithmetic tasks [34], [35] but hyperactivity during verbal learning or attention-loaded tasks, as well as verbal working memory tasks [36] [38].
In this study, cerebellar contributions to arithmetic and language aspects of working memory and attention were assessed in two separate behavioural experiments.
The role of working memory in mental arithmetic is traditionally established with an experimental procedure that limits or prevents participants from modifying the problem presentation in working out an answer.
Examples of cognitive tasks included arithmetic tasks (eg, serial-3 subtractions), working memory tasks (eg, n-back test), or choice reaction time tasks (eg, auditory Stroop test).
Similarly, two studies reported impaired performance in depressed patients in the paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT) which requires working memory and additional arithmetic abilities [ 7, 26].
