These may affect the entire cortex, causing a generalized seizure, or may begin focally or regionally, and cause a partial seizure.
Epilepsy is a condition with recurring epileptic seizures.
A simple partial seizure does not affect consciousness. Complex partial seizures originate in cortical areas that control thoughts, images, or emotions without external signs of somatic involvement. The same sequence is followed exactly with every attack. Dreamy or fugue-like behaviors that respond to the environment, interactive conversations, or directed violence are never seizures. The patient will recall an aura or prodrome as the first manifestation of an actual seizure, before the seizure progresses to a more intense stage.