Glossary of Terms

Below are brief explanations of terms you may come across throughout the book and in your conversations with your physician.

Anti-seizure medication

A medication used to prevent seizures (formerly called an antiepileptic drug).

Absence seizure

A generalized seizure in the form of a brief lapse of awareness, a blank stare.

Aura

An early warning sign at the onset of some seizures that the child notices.

Atonic seizure

A seizure in which the muscles suddenly go limp, causing the child to fall.

EEG

A painless test that records the electrical activity of the brain.

Focal seizure

A seizure that begins in one region of the brain.

Photosensitivity

A tendency toward seizures triggered by flashing light.

Ictal / Postictal

The period during a seizure / the period after a seizure.

Drug-resistant epilepsy

A situation in which seizures continue despite two appropriate medications.

Generalized seizure

A seizure that involves both halves of the brain from the very beginning.

Ketogenic diet

A high-fat, low-carbohydrate medical nutrition therapy.

Clonic

A rhythmic contract-and-relax (jerking) movement.

Comorbidity

Another health condition that occurs alongside epilepsy.

Myoclonic seizure

A sudden, brief, lightning-like muscle jerk.

Monotherapy

Treatment with a single medication.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to adapt and reorganize itself.

Automatism

Purposeless, repetitive movements during a seizure (such as lip smacking).

Status epilepticus

A seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes or occurs one after another, requiring emergency care.

SUDEP

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (rare; even rarer in children).

Syndrome

A recognizable pattern of epilepsy in which certain features occur together.

Tonic

The sudden stiffening and sustained contraction of the muscles.

Tonic-clonic seizure

A seizure with stiffening followed by jerking, in which there is a loss of consciousness.

VNS

Vagus nerve stimulation; a device-based treatment aimed at reducing seizures.