The differential diagnosis for epilepsy is comprehensive and includes a number of cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and psychiatric disorders (see Differential Diagnosis for Epilepsy). The brain is a network of interconnected neurons that can produce a wide array of synchronized activities, including those that trigger epileptic seizures. Both focal and tonic–clonic seizures have been associated with recurrent excitatory interactions between pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex or hippocampus, whereas absence seizures result from the abnormal oscillatory activity of excitatory and inhibitory brain cells in the thalamus and cerebral cortex.

Arjonline.org Journals