Aging shifts hippocampal reactivation from selective reinstatement to category-level misbinding during episodic memory.

Patient and public involvement is integral to clinical research []. This understanding has developed from an increasing appreciation that people should not be the passive recipients of the research that underpins their health [, ]. This has driven a PPI overhaul of how clinical trials are designed and delivered, altered journal publication criteria to ensure research is co-produced, and given rise to PPI engagement initiatives such as the James Lind Alliance []. Despite these well-overdue and positive changes, an increasing concern, certainly of the lay individuals on this project’s steering committee, is that PPI engagement has become more tokenistic and does not ultimately bring about the change desired by patients. This underpinned our decision to explore the involvement of a PPI peer researcher in this work. Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common healthcare-associated infections worldwide [, ]. The evidence base informing clinical practice is weak and therefore, significant variation in practice exists [, ]. An NIHR project was funded to explore patients’ and caregivers’ preferences for post-discharge SSI monitoring after adult cardiac surgery, and the factors identified have already been published [–]. An additional, exploratory component of this work, suggested by the lay members of the study’s leadership team, was integration of a PPI peer researcher with a lived experience of SSI alongside the academic researcher on site to undertake participant interviews, observe the patient journey through cardiac surgery, and collect data. It was advocated that this approach may enrich the perspective on patients’ and caregivers’ experiences. In this commentary, we highlight some of the unique challenges this presents and offer suggestions as to how these could be overcome. This work was an exploratory component of an explanatory mixed-method research project focusing on postoperative SSI wound monitoring [–]. The study involved observing individuals throughout their inpatient stay for adult cardiac surgery. Having an SSI was not a requirement. A survey focused on issues related to wound monitoring postoperatively, and in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between September 2022 and February 2023. This was analysed thematically. Ethical permissions were approved by the East of Scotland Research Ethics Service (21/ES/0098).