Seizures and epilepsy can present in many different ways because they depend on which area of the brain is affected by abnormal electrical activity. Understanding how your seizures present can help identify the region of the brain involved.

However, tonic-clonic seizures involve widespread brain activity and cause full-body convulsions. Most seizures begin as focal (partial) seizures in one specific area of the brain before potentially spreading. In some cases, seizure activity remains focal and does not generalise, resulting in symptoms limited to a particular function or part of the body.