UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Frontal Lobe Epilepsy

Category: Neurology

Keywords: frontal lobe epilepsy, epilepsy, seizure, partical focal seizure, complex focal seizure (PubMed Search)

Posted: 3/3/2010 by Aisha Liferidge, MD (Updated: 12/26/2024)
Click here to contact Aisha Liferidge, MD

  • Frontal Lobe Epilepsy (FLE) is characterized by recurrent, brief, focal seizures arising from the frontal lobe of the brain, often occuring during sleep.
  • FLE is the second most common form of epilepsy, behind Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE).
  • FLE presents in 2 forms:  (1) simple partial (focal) seizures (no affect on awareness or memory), or (2) complex partial (focal) seizures (affects awareness and memory before, during, and/or after the seizure).
  • FLE seizures are often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders, non-epileptic convulsions, or sleep disorders, due to the unusual symptoms that they often produce.