Table 1.

Example substitutions for terms commonly used in epilepsy research.

Medical Term	Suggested Substitution
Adverse effects of antiseizure medications	Seizure medicine side effects
Amygdalohippocampectomy	Surgery to remove the inside portion of a temporal lobe
Antiepileptic drug/antiseizure medication	Seizure medicine
Comorbidities	Health problems that happen more often in people with epilepsy
Cortical dysplasia	An area of abnormal brain that was malformed at birth
Cortical resection for epilepsy	Surgery to remove part of the brain where seizures start
Epilepsy syndrome	Type of epilepsy
Epileptologist	Epilepsy specialist
Focal impaired awareness seizure	Staring spell or “small” seizure
Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure	Convulsion or “grand mal”
Hypoxia	Lack of oxygen
Mesial temporal sclerosis	Scar on the brain in the temporal lobe
Neuromodulation	Electrical devices used to control seizures
Psychiatric problems	Emotional health problems