Definitions: MedlinePlus
Central Nervous System: The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord. Your brain and spinal cord serve as the main "processing center" for the entire nervous system, and control all the workings of your body.
Consciousness- decreased-Decreased alertness is a state of reduced awareness.
EEG: An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test to measure the electrical activity of the brain.
How the Test is Performed: Brain cells talk to each other by producing tiny electrical signals, called impulses.
An EEG helps measure this activity. The test is done by a EEG specialist in your doctor's office or at a hospital or laboratory.
You will be asked to lie on your back on a bed or in a reclining chair.
Flat metal disks called electrodes are placed all over your scalp. The disks are held in place with a sticky paste. The electrodes are connected by wires to a speaker and recording machine.
The recording machine changes the electrical signals into patterns that can be seen on a computer. It looks like a bunch of wavy lines.
You will need to lie still during the test with your eyes closed because movement can change the results. But, you may be asked to do certain things during the test, such as breathe fast and deeply for several minutes or look at a bright flashing light.
Epilepsy: Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness.
Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury, and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown.
Doctors use brain scans and other tests to diagnose epilepsy. It is important to start treatment right away. There is no cure for epilepsy, but medicines can control seizures for most people. When medicines are not working well, surgery or implanted devices such as vagus nerve stimulators may help. Special diets can help some children with epilepsy.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Febrile Seizure: Febrile seizures are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children. During a febrile seizure, a child often loses consciousness and shakes. Less commonly, a child becomes rigid or has twitches in only a portion of the body. Most febrile seizures last a minute or two; some can be as brief as a few seconds, while others last for more than 15 minutes. Approximately one in every 25 children will have at least one febrile seizure. Febrile seizures usually occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years and are particularly common in toddlers. The older a child is when the first febrile seizure occurs, the less likely that child is to have more. A few factors appear to boost a child's risk of having recurrent febrile seizures, including young age (less than 15 months) during the first seizures, frequent fevers, and having immediate family members with a history of febrile seizures.
Genralized Tonic-clonic Seizure- The seizures usually involve muscle rigidity (tonic), followed by violent muscle contractions (clonic) , and loss of alertness (consciousness).
Infantile Spasm:An infantile spasm (IS) is a specific type of seizure seen in an epilepsy syndrome of infancy and childhood known as West Syndrome. West Syndrome is characterized by infantile spasms, developmental regression, and a specific pattern on electroencephalography (EEG) testing called hypsarrhythmia (chaotic brain waves). The onset of infantile spasms is usually in the first year of life, typically between 4-8 months. The seizures primarily consist of a sudden bending forward of the body with stiffening of the arms and legs; some children arch their backs as they extend their arms and legs. Spasms tend to occur upon awakening or after feeding, and often occur in clusters of up to 100 spasms at a time. Infants may have dozens of clusters and several hundred spasms per day. Infantile spasms usually stop by age five, but may be replaced by other seizure types. Many underlying disorders, such as birth injury, metabolic disorders, and genetic disorders can give rise to spasms, making it important to identify the underlying cause. In some children, no cause can be found.
Neurologic Disorders: Neurologic diseases are disorders of the brain, spinal cord and nerves throughout your body. Together they control all the workings of the body. When something goes wrong with a part of your nervous system, you can have trouble moving, speaking, swallowing, breathing or learning. You can also have problems with your memory, senses or mood.
Partial Complex Seizures: In partial seizures the electrical disturbance is limited to a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere (side of the brain). Partial seizures are subdivided into simple partial seizures (in which consciousness or awareness is retained) and complex partial seizures (in which consciousness is impaired or lost). Partial seizures may spread or progress to a generalized tonic-clonic seizure, in which case the classification category is partial seizures secondarily generalized.
Partial seizures are the most common type of seizure experienced by people with epilepsy. Virtually any movement, sensory or emotional symptom can occur as part of a partial seizure, including complex visual or auditory hallucinations.
Seizure- Seizures are symptoms of a brain problem. They happen because of sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain. When people think of seizures, they often think of convulsions in which a person's body shakes rapidly and uncontrollably. Not all seizures cause convulsions. There are many types of seizures and some have mild symptoms. Seizures fall into two main groups. Focal seizures, also called partial seizures, happen in just one part of the brain. Generalized seizures are a result of abnormal activity on both sides of the brain.
Most seizures last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and do not cause lasting harm. However, it is a medical emergency if seizures last longer than 5 minutes or if a person has many seizures and does not wake up between them. Seizures can have many causes, including medicines, high fevers, head injuries and certain diseases. People who have recurring seizures due to a brain disorder have epilepsy.
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke