Different Parts of the Brain That Epilepsy Effects

Epilepsy is a serious neurological condition wherein the electrical current in the brain is disrupted, leading to seizures. Epilepsy affects many different parts of the brain and can even affect the entire brain. Understanding what parts it affects can help you understand this disease.

Seizure Types

• Partial seizures affect a specific part of the brain. The effect of the seizure differs depending on the part of the brain affected. Grand mal seizures affect the entire brain and create symptoms that affect the entire body.

Frontal Lobe

• Epilepsy that affects the frontal lobe will cause "jerking" seizures, where the body twitches uncontrollably and motor abilities are impaired. This is usually the most well known of all epilepsy symptoms.

Parietal Lobe

• Parietal lobe epilepsy will cause seizures in the mind's sensory ability which can cause a person to blank out and be entirely unaffected by all sensations. It can also cause sufferers to vividly hallucinate.

Temporal Lobe

• When epilepsy attacks the temporal lobe, a person's mood will be affected. A sufferer may become deeply depressed or angrily violent. It also affects on the gastrointestinal system, including involuntary urination or defecation.

Limbic System

• Seizures in the limbic system will change a person's state of consciousness. Likely the person will pass out, become incredibly tired, or wake violently during a limbic system seizure.