Chapter 26 A history of seizures and epilepsies: From the falling disease to dysrhythmias of the brain

Abstract

The history of seizure disorders might be roughly divided into three eras. The “early” period dates from antiquity to the medieval period and includes descriptions of seizures and their associated auras, as well as observations about the natural history of seizure disorders. This early period, during which convulsions were widely regarded as an attack or possession or “seizure” of human victims by a supernatural being, is briefly summarized. During the “classical” period of epileptology, from the Renaissance until the mid-19th century, there were many important developments in anatomy, physiology, and medicine, with a latent impact on the understanding of seizures and seizure disorders. During the early classical period, naturalistic explanations of brain function and cerebral disease coexisted with lay beliefs in supernatural possession. By the 18th and early 19th centuries, however, epileptology began to blossom with a dramatic expansion in the recognition of different types of seizures, refinements in the classification of seizures, delimitation of epilepsy from other neurological and psychiatric disorders, and greater attention to anatomical pathology. The “modern” era of epileptology can be traced to the 1860s, when a few critical studies initiated a remarkable transformation in the medical and physiological understanding of seizures.