Non-epileptic seizures (NES) are not caused by disrupted electrical activity in the brain and so are different from epilepsy. However, the difference between epileptic and non-epileptic seizures is their underlying cause. This may be partly because epilepsy and NES can look very similar, and can affect people in similar ways. What happens to the person during the seizure depends on where in the brain the seizure activity happens and what that part of the brain does.Īround 1 in 5 people (20%) diagnosed with epilepsy who are then assessed at specialist epilepsy centres are found to have NES If these messages are disrupted, or too many messages are sent at once, this causes an epileptic seizure. Our brain controls the way we think, move and feel, by passing electrical messages from one brain cell to another. What causes epileptic seizures?Įpileptic seizures are caused by a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain (so they always start in the brain). It may help you to identify different types of seizures, and why they may be happening for you or someone you know. You may be looking at this information if you, or someone you know, has been diagnosed with NES. The most common type of non-epileptic seizures (NES) is dissociative seizures (see below). They can have a physical cause such as low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) or may be related to how the heart is working.
Seizures that are not due to epilepsy are sometimes called 'non-epileptic seizures'. Epilepsy and epileptic seizures are explained below. There are several different types of seizures, and they can happen for many different reasons.
Non-epileptic seizures (NES) or dissociative seizures may look similar to epileptic seizures but they are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.This guide will help you understand what non-epileptic seizures are, what causes them, how they are diagnosed and how they can be treated.