Generalized Seizures (Grand Mal Seizures) What Is It? Normally,
the brain's nerve cells (neurons) communicate with one another
by firing tiny electric signals that pass from cell to cell. The
firing pattern of these electric signals reflects how busy the
brain is. The location of these signals indicates what the brain
is doing, such as thinking, seeing, feeling, hearing,
controlling the movement of muscles, etc. A seizure occurs when
the firing pattern of the brain's electric signals suddenly
becomes very abnormal and unusually intense, either in an
isolated area of the brain or throughout the brain. If the whole
brain is involved, the electrical disturbance is called a
generalized seizure. This type of seizure used to be called a
grand mal seizure. The most easily recognizable symptom of a
generalized seizure is the body stiffness and jerking limbs
known as tonic-clonic motor activity. Epilepsy is the condition
of being prone to repeated seizures, but this can be any kind of
seizures, not just generalized se