Liyao Qiu1,2 • Bin Zhang1,2 • Zhihua Gao1,21 Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
2 The MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Abstract
Neurons are highly interwoven to form intricate neural circuits that underlie the diverse functions of the brain. Dissecting the anatomical organization of neural circuits is key to deciphering how the brain processes information, produces thoughts, and instructs behaviors. Over the past decades, recombinant viral vectors have become the most commonly used tracing tools to define circuit architecture. In this review, we introduce the current categories of viral tools and their proper application in circuit tracing. We further discuss some advances in viral tracing strategy and prospective innovations of viral tools for future study.
Keywords
Viral tracing; Neural circuit; Anterograde; Retrograde; Transsynaptic
