Seizures (or convulsions) are temporary alterations in brain function expressing themselves into a changed mental state, tonic or clonic movements and various other symptoms. They are due to temporary abnormal electrical activity of a group of brain cells. In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. ... In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. ...

The treatment of seizures is a subspecialty of neurology; the study of seizures is part of neuroscience. Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... Neuroscience is a field of study which deals with the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and pathology of the nervous system. ...

Signs and symptoms

Seizures can cause involuntary changes in body movement or function, sensation, awareness, or behavior. A seizure can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. Seizure is often associated with a sudden and involuntary contraction of a group of muscles. However, a seizure can also be as subtle as marching numbness of a part of body, a brief loss of memory, sparkling of flashes, sniffing an unpleasant odor, a strange epigastric sensation or a sensation of fear. Therefore seizures are typically classified as motor, sensory, autonomic, emotional or cognitive. For computer memory, see computer storage. ... A motor is a device that converts energy into mechanical power, and is often synonymous with engine. ... Senses are the physiological methods of perception. ... Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else. ... In psychology and common terminology, emotion is the language of a persons internal state of being, normally based in or tied to their internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. ... The term cognition is used in several different loosely related ways. ...

There are more than 20 different types of seizures. Seizures are often associated with epilepsy and related seizure disorders, although head trauma, intoxication, infection, metabolic disturbances, withdrawal symptoms (from sedatives such as alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines) and space-occupying processes in the brain (abscesses, tumors) may also cause them. Seizures in (or shortly after) pregnancy can be a sign of eclampsia. Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Head trauma is bleeding in the brain. ... This article or section should include material from drunkenness Intoxication is an impaired mental and physical state caused by ingesting alcoholic beverages or other psychoactive drugs. ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). ... Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614 Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος(metavallo), the Greek word for change), in the most general sense, is the ingestion and breakdown of complex compounds, coupled with the liberation of energy, and the consequent generation of waste... When an addictive behavior is stopped or an addictive substance is withdrawn from use, withdrawal symptoms almost always follow. ... A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Barbiturates are drugs that acts as central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia. ... Benzodiazepine tablets The benzodiazepines are a class of drugs with hypnotic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, amnestic and muscle relaxant properties. ... An abscess is a collection of pus collected in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process (usually caused by bacteria or parasites) or other foreign materials (e. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... Eclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy and is characterised by convulsions. ...

Some medications produce an increased risk of seizures and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) deliberately sets out to induce a seizure. Many seizures have unknown causes. Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as electroshock or ECT, is a controversial type of psychiatric shock therapy involving the induction of an artificial seizure in a patient by passing electricity through the brain. ...

Symptoms experienced by a person during a seizure depend on where in the brain the disturbance in electrical activity occurs. Some seizures may be frightening to onlookers. A person having a tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizure may cry out, lose consciousness and fall to the ground, and convulse, often violently. A person having a complex partial seizure may appear confused or dazed and will not be able to respond to questions or direction. Some people have seizures that are not noticeable to others. Sometimes, the only clue that a person is having an absence (petit mal) seizure is rapid blinking or a few seconds of staring into space.

Types

Some seizure types are:

• petit mal seizure (an absence seizure, or very brief loss of consciousness)
• partial (focal) seizure (usually a motor or sensory seizure that is restricted to one side of the body)
• partial complex seizure (characterized by brief loss of consciousness, behavioral, emotional symptoms, loss of memory and automatisms; temporal lobe and frontal lobe seizures are often in this category)
• generalized tonic-clonic seizure (grand mal seizure; motor seizure of both sides of the body)
• atonic seizure (also known as a "drop attack"), during which brief loss of muscle tone and consciousness cause abrupt falls.

It is still disputable whether a febrile seizure has to be regarded as an epileptic disorder or not. In general, a patient with two or more episodes of seizures is accepted to have epilepsy (a condition also known as a seizure disorder.) Many people with epilepsy perceive "auras": telltale sensations such as strange lights, unpleasant smells or odd sensations before their seizures. In medicine, there are many kinds of generalized seizures. ... In medicine, there are many kinds of generalized epilepsy, although epilepsy is the most common seizure disorder. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... In harmony, the tonus is the ratio 9:8 between a pair of frequencies or, equivalently, the ratio 8:9 between a pair of wavelengths. ... Clonus (from the Greek for violent, confused motion) is a series of muscular contractions due to sudden stretching of the muscle. ... Muscle tone is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles. ... A febrile seizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion is a generalized convulsion caused by elevated body temperature. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a consortium of universities and other institutions. ...

A person who is going into seizures of any kind continuously, with little or no time separating one from the next, is said to be in "status epilepticus." This is the most dangerous situation possible with regard to seizures. It requires immediate emergency intervention, usually through the injection of appropriate anti-seizure drugs, or the person will die. When the person in "status" is pregnant, the stakes are even higher. A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ...

Diagnosis

An isolated abnormal electrical activity recorded by an electroencephalography examination without a clinical presentation is not called a seizure. Nevertheless, they may identify background epileptogenic activity, as well as help identify particular causes of seizures. Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic exploration of the electrical activity of the brain by the application of electrodes to the scalp. ...

Management

If an individual has a grand mal seizure (generalized), the first thing witnesses must do is calm down, stop panicking (an understandable reaction, though), and help the victim. They need to ensure that the victim's airway is clear and open to maintain breathing. This may be ensured by putting the individual into a semi-supine position and applying strong upward pressure on the chin. Potentially sharp or dangerous objects should also be moved from the vicinity, so that the individual does not hurt him or herself. Witnesses also need to summon paramedics so that any injuries sustained during the seizure can be treated and the victim can be monitored in a safe hospital environment for subsequent seizures or status epilepticus. Panic is a sudden terror which dominates thinking and often affects groups of people. ... For the aerial route, see Airway (aviation). ... For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play). ... A supine is a form in which a verb may appear in some languages. ... Chin may refer to: In the human anatomy, the chin is the lowermost part of the face. ... Typical view of the defibrillator operator. ...

External link

• MEDLINEplus: Seizures (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seizures.html)