Affiliations: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham,
Birmingham, UK | Birmingham University Imaging Centre, Birmingham, UK | Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of
Birmingham and BSMHFT, Birmingham, UK | Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Andrea Eugenio Cavanna, MD, Department of
Neuropsychiatry, University of Birmingham and BSMHFT, Barberry Building, 25
Vincent Drive, Birmingham B15 2FG, UK. E-mail: A.Cavanna@ion.ucl.ac.uk
Abstract: Consciousness is a central concept in epileptology, relevant to the
understanding of both focal and generalized seizures. Within focal seizures,
impairment of consciousness has long been considered as the main criterion
differentiating complex partial seizures (CPS) from simple partial seizures
With the development of improved tools for investigating human brain function,
new insights into the brain mechanisms of altered consciousness in CPS have
become available. This paper reviews the existing literature on how the
currently available methods can be used to address the fundamental issue of how
CPS alter consciousness.
