Neuroscience Week 6: Seizures Flashcards
Objectives
Seizure definition
clinical manifestation of abnormal and excessive activity of cortical neurons
Epilepsy Definition
Brain disorder characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures
and
by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological and social consequences of the condition
and
requires at least one occurrence of an epileptic seizure
Epidemiology of Epilepsy
Age-related incidence and prevalence rates of epilepsy
Impact of epilepsy
5 listed
Top 5 primary questions of seizure evaluation
How is a seizure classified?
3 listed
Why is seizure classification important?
4 listed
Terms often used to describe seizures
9 listed
- complex partial seizures
- generalized tonic-clonic seizures
- diepileptic seizures
- seizure disorder
- Alcoholic seizures
- Grand mal
- temporal lobe epilepsy
- Petit mal
- Epilepsy
Layman grand mal
big bad - large convulsive seizures
Layman petit mal
small bad seizure - absence seizures (staring spells) any non-convulsive seizure
organization to classify seizures
Internation league against epilepsy
Generalized seizures types
6 listed
- tonic-clonic
- clonic
- absence (brief staring)
- myoclonic (muscle jerks)
- tonic (sudden stiffening)
- atonic (drop seizures)
Generalized seizures start
bilaterally from the brainstem and are distributed throughout the cortex so it reaches the cortex at the same time
What percentage of seizures are generalized seizures?
25%
EG
Tonic to clonic transition on eeg
Absence seizure AKA
Petit mal seizure
Absence seizure Age of onset
common in children
Absence seizure features
brief stare and loss of awareness
can be accompanied by automatisms such as:
- blinking
- chewing
- hand gestures
Absence seizure duration
typically <10 seconds but can last to 30 seconds
which condtion?
3 Hz spike and discharge pattern
3 of these per second
Myoclonic seizure EEG characteristics
- can appear one at a time or cluster
- during myoclonic buildup and then burst of muscle activity
Myoclonic seizure features
- Brief shock-like jerks of muscle
- person usually awake and oriented
- can be singular or multiple
- may build to GTC
Myoclonic seizure duration
1-2 seconds
Atonic seizure features
sudden loss of tone of all muscles without myoclonus
Atonic seizure duration
<2 seconds
Atonic seizure AKA
Drop seizure
Tonic seizure features
- sudden stiffening of muscles
- loss of consciousness
Tonic seizure duration
lasts seconds to minutes
Question 1
B. Tonic seizure
Question 2
A. Tonic-clonic seizure
Partial seizures AKA
focal seizures
Types of Partial seizures
- Simple
- Complex
- secondarily generalized