Studying how drugs act on neuronal circuits requires delivering them with temporal precision while behavior proceeds undisturbed, a combination that tethered infusion systems cannot provide. We developed WEARIT (Wireless Equipment for Autonomous Rat Infusion Tasks), a wearable, tetherless infusion platform that gives freely moving rats intravenous access under either remote or closed-loop operant control. The device houses a reservoir, miniaturized pump, rechargeable battery and Bluetooth circuitry in a 3D-printed enclosure worn on the back. By measuring spontaneous locomotion, amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion and food-reinforced operant responding, we show that WEARIT leaves these behaviors unchanged. Remotely triggered fentanyl infusions yielded reliable delivery with physiological responses confirmed by pulse oximetry, and self-administration acquisition and dose-response functions were comparable to conventional tethered systems. WEARIT removes a longstanding constraint on intravenous pharmacology, opening self-administration paradigms to naturalistic and enriched environments and to concurrent imaging or optogenetic manipulation of the circuits engaged by drug reinforcement.
Jeong, E. Y., Teague, C. D., Reimert, A., Cho, S., Lee, J., Althoff, T., Lin, K., Nair, M., Leong, T., Silva, E., Parker, K. E., Cahill, C. M., McCall, J. G., Jeong, J.-W., Massaly, N.
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