Rats were anesthetized with a cocktail of xylazine (8.6 mg/kg), acepromazine (1.5 mg/kg), and ketamine (43 mg/kg), and indwelling catheters were implanted into the right jugular vein. Catheters were secured to a plastic back mount and surgical mesh, as previously described (Cunningham et al., 2011 (link); Neelakantan et al., 2017 (link); Sholler et al., 2019 (link)), and rats were allowed 7 days of recovery after surgery. Catheter patency was maintained with a bacteriostatic saline infusion (0.1 mL) containing streptokinase (0.67 mg/mL; Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, MO, USA), heparin sodium (10 U/mL; American Pharmaceutical Partners, East Schaumburg, IL, USA), and ticarcillin disodium (66.67 mg/mL; Research Products International, Mt. Prospect, IL, USA) administered immediately after daily self-administration sessions.
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