Paroxysmal neurological disorders

Epilepsy is a chronic neurologic disorder characterized by recurrent seizures.33 Seizures are episodes of sudden, transient disturbances in cerebral excitation that occur when a sufficient number of cerebral neurons begin to fire rapidly and in synchronized bursts.42 Depending on the type of seizure, neuronal activity may remain localized in a specific area of the brain, or it may spread to other areas of the brain. In some seizures, neurons in the motor cortex are activated, leading to skeletal muscle contraction via descending neuronal pathways. These involuntary, paroxysmal skeletal muscle contractions seen during certain seizures are referred to as convulsions. However, convulsions are not associated with all types of epilepsy, and other types of seizures are characterized by a wide variety of sensory or behavioral symptoms. 

Two opinions were put forward as to the causes of epilepsy. One was that epilepsy is a single disease entity, and all forms of it have a common cause. On the other hand, it was proposed that different types of epilepsy result from different chemical, anatomic, or functional disorders. At the Symposium on Evaluation of Drug Therapy in Neurologic and Sensory Disease, the general opinion was that epilepsy is a symptom complex characterized by recurrent paroxysmal aberrations of brain functions, usually brief and self-limited" (1). 

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