The facilitation and evocation of seizures

Despite the fact that environmental factors have been demonstrated to be important in the genesis of seizures in people with epilepsy, such factors have received scant attention in the education of clinicians or in the provision of services for managing patients with epilepsy. This paper reviews the history of, and literature about, reflex epilepsy, with particular reference to seizures which occur in response to psychological states or stimuli, and discusses the possible implications for management, and the rationale for the use of psychological interventions which may complement drug treatments in the management of epilepsy.