limbic epilepsy

a type of neurological disorder in which recurrent seizures spontaneously arise in areas of the limbic system. Recent research suggests that altered connectivities between hippocampal granule cells and pyramidal cells—as mediated by neurotrophins and their receptors—play a crucial role in the development of limbic epilepsy by potentially changing the balance of excitation and inhibition in the hippocampus and amygdala, which are essential to memory and emotion. Acetylcholine and other amino acid neurotransmitters have also been implicated in the etiology of limbic epilepsy, as have early life stressors, such as maternal separation. Additionally, febrile seizures may contribute to the generation of subsequent limbic epilepsy by increasing hippocampal excitability. Also called medial temporal lobe epilepsy; mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

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Psychology term of the day

January 3rd 2025

syphilis

n. a contagious disease caused by infection with the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is usually a sexually transmitted disease, but it can be transmitted through a break or cut in the skin or mucous membrane; it can also be transmitted by an infected pregnant woman to an unborn child. Untreated, syphilis progressively destroys body tissues, particularly those of the heart and nervous system. See also cerebral syphilis; general paresis.