Introduction
Theneuropeptideargininevasopressin(AVP)hasbeenlinkedto
a wide variety of physiological processes (e.g., water balance and
cardiac function) andmore recently to complexpsychologicalprocesses includinghumansocial cognitionandbehavior [15]. Several
studies have outlined the potential for utilizing plasma AVP concentrations as a biomarker of disease status in neuropsychiatric
disorders, including autism and schizophrenia [17,20]. Indeed, our
group recently found that plasma AVP concentrations positively predict social cognition performance in children with autism, but
notinsiblingsofprobandsor inmatchedneurotypicalcontrols(D.S.
Carson et al., manuscript submitted).