A seizure is not a disease in itself. A seizure is a symptom of many different disorders that can affect the brain. Some seizures can hardly be noticed, while others are totally disabling. A seizure is frightening, and to many people, mysterious. The word itself comes from the Greek word meaning "to take hold." Over centuries, the word "seizure" conveyed people being taken over by supernatural forces, either Gods or Devils. Today, we understand that a seizure is not a supernatural entity. It is simply a medical condition in which too many brain cells become excited at the same time. The brain is an electrochemical machine. Nerve cells or neurons use chemical reactions to generate electricity, like a very complex battery. When a neuron becomes excited, it passes an electrical signal along its thin biological wire, called an axon, to communicate with other neurons in the brain. Those other neurons either can be excited or inhibited by the signal. When too many neurons become excited all at once, a seizure can result. A seizure is like an electrical storm in the brain. During this abnormal electrical storm, the involved parts of the brain cannot perform their normal tasks, and people experience sudden alterations in movements, sensations, awareness or behavior. A seizure typically goes on for a few seconds to a few minutes. The end of a seizure is a transition back to the individual's normal state. Because the word "ictus" is Latin for seizure, this period of recovery is referred to as the "post-ictal period," which can last from seconds to hours. A person's level of awareness gradually improves during the post-ictal period. Doctors are often asked what the difference is between a seizure and epilepsy. To the medical community, epilepsy is the condition of having spontaneously recurrent seizures. That means that one isolated seizure is not defined as epilepsy. There must be two or more seizures, or one seizure with a high chance of having another. To count as epilepsy, the seizures have to appear spontaneously, without an immediate precipitating factor. If Johnny falls off his motorcycle, hits his head and has two seizures on the scene, it is not epilepsy, because the seizures were immediately precipitated by head trauma. However, if he recovers, then starts having seizures weeks, months or years later as a result of the traumatic brain injury, then that does count as epilepsy. The word "epilepsy" has a long history of social stigma. But epilepsy is nothing more than a brain disorder caused by uncontrolled excessive and synchronous electrical activity. It is a medical condition, just as is diabetes or a heart attack. If you are concerned that you might have epilepsy, please see a physician. "The movies in this series can be viewed in any order. If you wish to watch these clips in their original sequence, the next clip is, "What are the different types of seizures?"