Question: What happens when someone has a seizure?

Ioana Grigoras answered on 4 Mar 2020:

Hi! Thank you for this question!
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Before I answer about seizures, I would like to explain a bit how the brain works. The brain is made up of billions of small cells called neurons. The way neurons communicate with each other is through electric impulses. Think about the electric impulse like a game of tag. Once neuron A ‘tags’ neuron B, neuron B can’t ‘tag’ neuron A right back, otherwise the impulse would just go in a circle, right?
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However, that is exactly what happens in a seizure. For some reason, the neurons don’t follow this rule anymore and the electrical impulse just keeps going from one neuron to another and it spreads all over the brain. This leads to the brain being stimulated at higher levels than it would normally be and that is when the seizure appears.
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There are different reasons why a seizure can appear, but all these reasons cause the same thing: neurons being more excitable than they would normally be and being activated more easily.
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I hope this answers your question! Please let me know if you have any follow up questions on this!