A review of event-related potential (ERP) components employed in mental arithmetic processing studies

This review focuses on studies utilizing early, late and slow-wave components of event-related potentials (ERPs) in investigating two mental arithmetic processing (MAP) phenomenons - problem-size and arithmetic-operation effects. While MAP has been associated primarily with slow-wave components of ERPs, inconsistent findings are found in the literature on the sensitivity of early and some late components. In an attempt to theoretically integrate the results of reviewed studies, it is proposed that the amplitude of early and late ERP components are potential indices for measuring the effect of manipulating the problem-size and/or arithmeticoperation during MAP. This conclusion will help in providing more insight into the strategies employed in MAP by the human brain

High resolution event-related potentials analysis of the arithmetic-operation effect in mental arithmetic

Objective Early, late and slow waves of event-related potentials (erps) appearing around 0–300 ms, 300–500 ms and after 500 ms respectively post-question presentation have been differentially associated to mental arithmetic processing (MAP). We hypothesized that arithmetic-operation effect (AOE) will show greater modulation of early components (P100, P200) in high-frequency erps; late components (P300, N300) and slow waves in low-frequency ERP when large-size problems are employed. Methods Fourteen normal human subjects mentally processed large- and small-size addition, division, multiplication and subtraction problems. Spatiotemporal differences between these arithmetic-operations were studied by way of comparing amplitudes and latencies of early, late and slow waves. Results All components were modulated by AOE. Modulated was observed as early as 100 ms post-question presentation (in high-frequency ERP components). AOE was very pronounced in large-size problems (in low-frequency ERP components).UCT postgraduate funding office, MRC/UCT medical imaging research unit and Cape Peninsular University of Technolog