Association between dyads and correct responses on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT)

The sensitivity of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) to working memory deficits may be enhanced by examining "dyads" (i.e., correct responses immediately preceded by a correct response) as a complement to the traditional total correct summary score. In a sample of 397 mostly African American (79%) healthy adults, total dyad and total correct scores were highly correlated (r = .96, p < .001); however, the magnitude of this association diminished in faster stimulus presentation trials, particularly among participants with impaired working memory abilities.