Presumably, epilepsy has been around since the evolutionary leap of the neuron took place.  We know that it is not restricted to humans.  In fact, even our pets can suffer from epilepsy (Scwartz-Porsche et al. 1985).  In ancient times, epilepsy was sometimes interpreted as a sign of evil spirit possession or a curse (Delgado-Esqueta, 1999, Penfield, 1954, Temkin, 1945).  In about 460 b.c., Hippocrates (considered the father of modern medicine) categorized epilepsy as a disease, but physicians may have suspected epilepsy to be a natural disease long before this.    It was Hippocrates that first recognized (in writing) that epilepsy is a disease of the brain due to natural causes and not to supernatural causes (Penfield, 1954, Temkin, 1945).). 

     Hippocrates was very influential, forming not only the basis of medical teaching in the middle ages, but influences that reach into today’s medical practices.  Possibly the most read description of a seizure can be found in the Bible.  “And they brought the boy to him.  When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth...after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead’...[Jesus’] desciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?”  He said to them, ‘This kind can come out only through prayer’.” (Mark 9:20-29). 
     Unfortunately, the treatments for epilepsy have never been very effective.  From the writings of early physicians we can see a general feeling of helplessness for the treatment of epilepsy (Penfield, 1954).  In the 17th and 18th centuries, a wide number of epilepsy drugs were used, but nothing worked.  Some of the prescriptions included mistletoe, elk’s foot, peony root, and other random substances.  It was not until 1859 that Samuel Wilks introduced bromide of potassium as an anticonvulsant (Penfield, 1954).  Many brutal surgeries were also tried, but no surgery led to a significant stop of epileptic activities, and many lead to the death of the patient (Penfield, 1954).  In the 1870’s, animal testing with electrical stimulation of the brain revealed ground breaking strides in our understanding of the brain.  Localization of function was proven, and this of course, was a huge advance for epileptology.  This gave rise to a comprehensive system of the epilepsies, which was developed by a neuroscientist named Hughlings Jackson (Penfield, 1954).

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