Epilepsy
A tendency to recurrent unprovoked seizures caused by abnormal, excessive, hypersynchronous electrical discharge of cortical neurons, with seizure semiology directly reflecting which part of the cortex fires and how far the discharge spreads.
First principles
A seizure is a network of neurons firing together instead of independently
Normal cortical function depends on neurons firing asynchronously within balanced networks of excitation and inhibition. In epilepsy, a group of neurons becomes hyperexcitable and, once triggered, recruits neighbouring neurons into synchronous discharge. The clinical seizure is simply the behavioural output of whichever brain region is discharging: motor cortex firing produces jerking, temporal lobe firing produces altered awareness and automatisms, occipital cortex firing produces visual phenomena.
Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.