What are seizures, or epilepsy? And do they have an impact on intelligence or personality?
Seizures involve an abnormal electrical discharge in the brain. Epilepsy can be thought of as involving two or more seizures due to the same underlying cause. Roughly two-thirds of seizures occur for unknown reasons. They just happen. For the third of seizures that occur for known reasons, there are numerous possible causes. Some of the more common include blows to the head (e.g. from car accidents; sports-related injuries; falls such as out of a tree, off a ladder or down stairs;) high fevers; strokes; use of various legal and illegal substances (e.g. alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines); and brain tumors. There are a number of different types of seizures. Perhaps the best known are often referred to as ‘grand mal’ and involve loss of consciousness for a brief period of time, and a lot of jerking and contraction of the limbs. ‘Petit mal’ are less obvious to the observer, and are also fairly common. They are a situation where the person remains conscious but in an altered state of awareness
