Herpes simplex virus as a transneuronal tracer

Determining the connections of neural systems is critical for determining how they function. In this review, we focus on the use of HSV-1 and HSV-2 as transneuronal tracers. Using HSV to examine neural circuits is technically simple. HSV is injected into the area of interest, and after several days, the animals are perfused and processed for immunohistochemistry with antibodies to HSV proteins. Variables which influence HSV infection include species of host, age of host, titre of virus, strain of virus and phenotype of infected cell. The choice of strain of HSV is critically important. Several strains of HSV-1 and HSV-2 have been utilized for purposes of transneuronal tract-tracing. HSV has been used successfully to study neuronal circuitry in a variety of different neuroanatomical systems including the somatosensory, olfactory, visual, motor, autonomic and limbic systems.