Partial Seizures - Types And Symptoms

In a normal brain, the electrical signals are exchanged between neurons in a very orderly manner. This keeps such occurrences as seizures at bay. In case of disruption in the way these nerve cells communicate, electrical discharges result in an altered body condition called seizure or epileptic seizure.


The etiology or causes of seizure is poorly understood, thus the differences in the classification for each distinct symptom. A widely-recognized method of classifying the variants of seizure hinges on the location from which the discharge roots from.

Partial seizures are localized seizures that affect only one side of the brain. Often, the location from where the disruption in nerve cell communication is only a very small part of the brain. This type is further divided into several other types.

Simple Partial Seizure
In simple partial seizure, the electrical discharges happen and remain in the same location. Because the faulty nerve cell communication is contained in a single part of the brain, the effects are often associated with that area of the brain and the bodily functions it controls. It is good to remember that this type does not involve any loss of consciousness.

For example, if the simple partial seizure happened in the left frontal lobe, specifically in the area which controls the movements of the right arm, tremor and jerky movements will only affect the right arm. The person experiencing the epileptic movement of the arm is fully aware of what's happening with his/her right arm.

Simple partial variants are likely to progress to complex partial seizure. Medical attention should be sought immediately after an episode occurs.

Jacksonian seizures, a type of simple partial seizure, is a type whose symptoms begin in one area of the body and eventually spread through adjacent areas as the electrical discharges spread to neighboring parts of the brain that control the affected body parts.

Another type of partial seizure is the complex partial seizure. In here, the condition is similar with Jacksonian seizure wherein the electrical discharges spread throughout neighboring regions of the brain, causing the epileptic symptoms to spread to nearby parts of the body from where the seizure began. The only difference between the two is that the person experiencing the tremors loses his consciousness during the warning sign period called the aura which lasts anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes. As the seizure progresses, the person does not totally lose touch of his surrounding, he only experiences impaired consciousness wherein he might do the following behaviors: stare without seeing, involuntarily smack his lips, move his extremities with strange, jerky motions, utter random, meaningless words, refuse any help offered, and not understand any words spoken to him.

Some patients can still partially carry out conversation although most patients are incapable of conversing when having an attack. They may also feel disoriented, confused, and lost.

Patients who have undergone complex partial seizure have no memory of what happened to them. Some of them recover, many fully, but there are plenty of those whose symptoms will advance to a worse type of seizure called generalized complex seizure, also possibly tonic-clonic seizure, as the electrical discharges spread to other parts of the brain and the other side of the brain.

A rare type of partial seizure called apilepsia partialis continua produces symptoms that occur every few minutes or seconds. The symptoms are localized in one part of the body and may be experienced for prolonged periods at a time. This roots from inflammation of a part of the brain as a result of measles or encephalitis in children, or localized brain damage among older patients.