Long-term behavioral assessment of guinea pigs following neonatal pneumoperitoneum.

Background: Using guinea pigs, we previously demonstrated that pneumoperitoneum during pregnancy produces behavioral deficits in the offspring. In the current study, the purpose was to determine if CO(2) pneumoperitoneum during the early postnatal period also produced behavioral anomalies.

Methods: Following delivery, guinea pig pups were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: CO(2) pneumoperitoneum (P), laparotomy (L), or isolation control (I).