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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology pp 1–4Cite as

Seizure

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Definition

A seizure is a period of excessive activity of cerebral neurons. An epileptic seizure is “a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain” (Fisher et al. 2005). Certain brain regions, including the temporal lobes, have a higher susceptibility to seizures. Seizures may be spontaneous or associated with a precipitating event such as sleep deprivation or alcohol consumption. They occur one or more times per day in some patients but at much longer intervals in others.

The clinical (operational) definition of epilepsy by the ILAE (2014) requires “at least two or more unprovoked (or reflex) seizures occurring more than 24 hours apart” or a significantly increased risk of having a second seizure in a 10-year window following one unprovoked seizure. In addition, ILAE (2014) defines epilepsy to be resolved for those who remain seizure free for 10 years, with no seizure medications for the past 5 years.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Brian D. Bell

  2. Clinical Psychology, Rusk Institute - NYU Langone Health, NY, New York, USA

    Nuri Erkut Kucukboyaci

Authors
  1. Brian D. Bell
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  2. Nuri Erkut Kucukboyaci
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nuri Erkut Kucukboyaci .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Bell, B.D., Kucukboyaci, N.E. (2018). Seizure. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1055-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1055-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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