A stable home-base promotes allocentric memory representations of episodic-like everyday spatial memory.

A key issue in neurobiological studies of episodic-like memory is the geometric frame of reference in which memory traces of experience are stored. Assumptions are sometimes made that specific protocols favour either allocentric (map-like) or egocentric (body-centred) representations. There are, however, grounds for suspecting substantial ambiguity about coding strategy, including the necessity to use both frames of reference occasionally, but tests of memory representation are not routinely conducted. Using rats trained to find and dig up food in sandwells at a particular place in an event arena (episodic-like 'action-where' encoding), we show that a protocol previously thought to foster allocentric encoding is ambiguous but more predisposed towards egocentric encoding. Two changes in training protocol were examined with a view to promoting preferential allocentric encoding-one in which multiple start locations were used within a session as well as between sessions; and another that deployed a stable home-base to which the animals had to carry food reward. Only the stable home-base protocol led to excellent choice performance which rigorous analyses revealed to be blocked by occluding extra-arena cues when this was done after encoding but before recall. The implications of these findings for studies of episodic-like memory are that the representational framework of memory at the start of a recall trial will likely include a path direction in the egocentric case but path destination in the allocentric protocol. This difference should be observable in single-unit recording or calcium-imaging studies of spatially-tuned cells.

Experiencia de la cirugía del cáncer de mama durante la pandemia de COVID-19 / Experience of breast cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introducción: La pandemia por COVID-19ha tenido un importante impacto en todos los ámbitos; uno de los más afectados ha sido la sanidad. La pandemia ha supuesto una reorganización de los recursos tanto humanos como materiales, dada la saturación del sistema sanitario. Como especialistas en el cáncer de mama hemos tenido que adaptarnos a esta situación, reorganizando y ajustando los cuidados a los medios profesionales e infraestructuras de los que disponíamos en cada momento. La incidencia variable a lo largo del año ha permitido desarrollar una actividad normalizada en algunas ocasiones. Nos proponemos describir nuestra experiencia en la cirugía del cáncer de mama durante este año de pandemia de COVID-19.Material y métodos: Estudio observacional retrospectivo de pacientes intervenidas de neoplasia de mama desde el 14 de marzo de 2020 hasta el 14 de marzo de 2021.Resultados: Se han intervenido 138 neoplasias de mama en 136 mujeres.La edad media fue de 62 años (36-88). Hubo 86 pacientes (63,2%) en régimen de cirugía mayor ambulatoria y 50 pacientes (36,8%) con ingreso. El tiempo medio desde el diagnóstico hasta la visita en consultas externas fue de 5,7 días y el tiempo medio desde el diagnóstico hasta el inicio del tratamiento de 45 días.Conclusiones: Durante este año de pandemia de COVID-19 hemos podido asegurar la asistencia y tratamiento de las mujeres con cáncer de mama con adecuados intervalos entre el diagnóstico y el tratamiento. A este proceso ha contribuido la implementación previa de la cirugía mayor ambulatoria en el cáncer de mama. (AU)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an important impact in all areas; health service has been one of the most affected. The pandemic has led to a reorganization of human and material resources and has caused a saturation of the health service. As specialists in breast cancer, we have adapted to this situation by reorganizing and adapting care to the professional environments and infrastructures that were available when necessary. The incidence has varied during 2020 and it has made possible to normalize the work on some occasions. We would like to describe our experience in breast cancer surgery during this COVID-19 pandemic year.Material and methods: Retrospective observational study of patients operated on breast cancer from 14th March 2020 to 14th March 2021.Result: A number of 138 breast cancer have been operated on 136 women. The average age is 62 years (36-8); there were 86 patients operated on major ambulatory surgery regimen (63.2%) and 50 patients (36.8%) were hospitalized. The average time from diagnosis to outpatient visit was 5.7 days and the average time from diagnosis to the beginning of the treatment of 45 days.Conclusions: During this COVID-19 pandemic year, we have been able to ensure the care and treatment of women with breast cancer with adequate time intervals between diagnosis and treatment. This process has also been favored by the prior establishment of major ambulatory surgery in our medical center.