Raena D. Sumiyoshi

TL;DR: Findings indicate that OXT treatment enhances social abilities in children with ASD and that individuals with pretreatment OXT signaling deficits may stand to benefit the most from Oxt treatment.

TL;DR: This study provides the first empirical support for the use of blood measures of OXT as a surrogate for central OXT activity, validated in the context of behavioral functioning, and suggests that impaired OXT signaling may be a biomarker of anxiety in humans, and a potential target for therapeutic development in individuals with anxiety disorders.

TL;DR: Preliminary findings suggest that AVP has potential for treating social impairments in children with ASD, and a 4-week intranasal AVP daily treatment was well tolerated with minimal side effects.

TL;DR: Blood AVP concentrations can be used as a surrogate for brain AVP activity in humans; and as a robust biomarker of theory of mind ability in children with ASD, suggesting that AVP biology may be a promising therapeutic target by which to improve social cognition in individuals with ASD.

TL;DR: A multidimensional neuropeptide biomarker analysis was employed to more powerfully interrogate disease status and symptom severity in a well characterized child cohort comprised of ASD patients and neurotypical controls, and it is suggested that low blood neuropeptic receptor availability may be a promising biomarker of disease presence and symptoms severity in ASD.