A seizure is an abnormal burst of electrical activity in the brain. While some seizures cause no symptoms, others produce movements or changes in behavior, sensation or level of consciousness. When seizures occur repeatedly, this usually indicates a seizure disorder, or epilepsy.

Seizures that occur at night, or nocturnal seizures, are usually due to epilepsy and can significantly effect the ability to get a good night's rest. However, there are other sleep disorders that cause similar symptoms, which may be misdiagnosed as nocturnal seizures.

Absence seizures are caused by electrical misfiring in the brain and typically do not involve a loss of consciousness. However, a person who has experienced an absence seizure is unlikely to remember the seizure or what occurred during the seizure.

The Epilepsy Foundation states that each year, 300,000 people have their first seizure, a brain condition in which patients have abnormal electrical activity. When a seizure interferes with the brain's electrical activity, it disrupts normal communication between the brain and the body.

Seizures are due to electrical activity in the brain, which results in changes in consciousness and movement. Symptoms of seizures vary in patients: some patients may just have a staring spell, while others may experience twitching in their limbs.

A seizure is a characteristic symptom of epilepsy and may be caused by birth defects, problems during pregnancy or delivery, illness, fevers, infections and poisons in the body.