exam 3 study guide

seizures:

definition of epilepsy

the tendency to experience recurrent unprovoked seizures

• 2 or more unprovoked seizures

seizures:

characteristics of focal vs general onset

differences in origin

• focal

  • focal aware:

    • seizures that come from 1 part of the brain

  • focal impaired awareness:

    • seizures that come from 1 part of the brain

  • focal to bilateral tonic-clonic:

    • seizure starts in 1 spot but then spreads to the whole brain

  • ~70% originate in temporal lobes

  • ~30% originate in frontal lobes

  • <1% originate in parietal/occipital lobes

• general onset

  • whole brain fires off at once

clinical manifestation

• focal

  • focal aware:

    • person doesn’t lose consciousness/are aware of what’s going on during the seizure

  • focal impaired awareness:

    • person loses consciousness/have impaired awareness of what’s going on during the seizure

  • ~70% originate in temporal lobes

    • olfactory, gustatory, experiential, auditory, visual (language if dominant hemisphere)- very primitive functions!

      • relatively, things smell funny, things taste funny, experience deja vu, hear hums and ringing, see flashing lights or colors

    • behavioral arrest, asymmetric posturing, automatisms (automated repetitive behaviors)

      • typically, akinetic- lack of physical movement

  • ~30% originate in frontal lobes

    • may be bizarre, hyperkinetic, appear non-epileptic

    • frequently occur in sleep

    • usually brief, typically lasting seconds (whereas temporal lobe seizures lasts for minutes)

  • <1% originate in parietal/occipital lobes

    • sensory, visual

• general onset

  • tonic-clonic:

    • stiffening followed by rhythmic jerking + convulsions

  • tonic:

    • abrupt stiffening/posturing

  • clonic:

    • rhythmic/repetitive jerking movements

  • myoclonic:

    • brief jerking movements- like 1 lightning strike

    • may be followed by tonic-clonic or atonic pattern

  • atonic:

    • sudden loss of muscle tone

  • absence:

    • staring, behavior arrest

    • typical or atypical

    • myoclonic or with eyelid myoclonia

    • more common in kids

seizures:

safety procedures during a seizure

protecting head/airway

time the seizure

when to call emergency services

seizure:

typical signs and symptoms

seizure= the clinical manifestation of abnormal and excessively synchronized activity in a set of cortical neurons

seizure:

predisposing conditions

seizure:

progression of disease

seizure:

diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions

seizure:

OT goals/focus for specific conditions