For example, seizures can be caused by head injury in infants, and by brain degeneration in later life. However, the cause is found in only about one-quarter of people with recurring seizures. In the remaining case of idiopathic seizures, no other neurologic abnormality can be found. These lobes are responsible for memory and emotions, and recognition of people and objects. They handle the retrieving and processing of long-term memory and initiating communication or action.
Depression is a common psychiatric complication of temporal lobe seizures.
The key to diagnosis is a detailed medical history, including family history of seizures. Answers to questions about events occurring just prior to, during and after a seizure episode can be very effective in classifying the seizure disorder. Many tests are recommended for a person with seizures. These may include blood and urine tests and CT and MRI scans. One test routinely recommended is the electroencephalogram , which measures the electrical activity of the brain.