Don't know too much about that, downandlonely. I know some herpesvirus subtype infections can be recurrent where the virus is in a state of latency and then reactivated by things such as stress.

Shingles can result from those who suffered chicken pox. After recovery from chicken pox, the VZ virus becomes dormant around the spinal cord and in the brain. Stress is thought to be one of the causes of the return of the VZ virus in adulthood to morf into the shingles illness.

Much of the research on the link between herpesvirus 6B and mental illness is highly technical and requires advanced knowledge of organic chemistry and biochemistry. This part of the research is beyond my competence.

It has often been wondered why some mental illnesses are linked to inflammation of various regions of the brain. Inflammation is often caused by an infective agent such as some harmful microbe or when the immune system fighting an infection turns against the human body itself in a cytokine storm.

The viral model of mental illness is fairly new. The research is scant. Seems the whole project is sort of in its infancy. If true, in part or entirely, it would help explain why depressions can be chronic or relapsing. It could explain the brain inflammation seen in some mental illnesses. It could also at least partly explain why stress or trauma could cause return of symptoms.

Medical research is a slow process. It is helped by more and better research studies and by a body of evidence that trends more and more towards the explanations.

Any thoughts?