CLASSIFICATION OF EPILEPSIES IN CHILDHOOD 139 Seizure Classification

Early discussions on epilepsy rarely differentiated between epilepsies in childhood and those in adult life. The history of classification of the epilepsies might be defined in three major eras: the philosophical era before the twentieth century, marked by patient observation and, to a large degree, philosophical speculation as to the nature of the disease; the era of the localizationalists and pathologists, spanning roughly the first half of the twentieth century; and the present molecular era, including neurochemistry and particularly receptor pharmacology, the physiology of excitatory and inhibitory systems, and molecular biology.