Introduction to epilepsy

Abstract

The chapter provides an introduction to epilepsy and outlines the history of epileptic seizures. Despite major developments in the understanding of epilepsy and the propagation and spread of epileptic seizures, the central issues and principles remain unchanged to date. If the seizure focus is accurately localized, surgical removal of that focus can alleviate the occurrence of seizures. The technological environment has changed to a remarkable extent in this respect. The data and criteria by which the diagnosis of seizure localization is made continue to develop. The chapter examines the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography in this evaluation process. The devel..