reflex epilepsy
- noun
- /ˈrɛflɛks ˌɛpɪˈlɛpsi/
- Specialized
- She was diagnosed with reflex epilepsy after her seizures repeatedly occurred during video games.
Examples
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Many people with reflex epilepsy avoid flashing lights.
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Certain types of reflex epilepsy are more common in children than in adults.
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Photogenic stimuli like flickering lights can provoke seizures in individuals with reflex epilepsy.
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He was diagnosed with reflex epilepsy last year.
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Individuals with reflex epilepsy may experience seizures triggered by specific stimuli, such as bright, flashing lights.
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The doctor explained that her reflex epilepsy was triggered whenever she played video games with intense graphics.
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To manage her reflex epilepsy, she takes precautions to avoid environments with blinking or strobe lights.
Synonyms
A brain condition that causes sudden seizures or brief loss of awareness
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase combines 'reflex' (an automatic response to a stimulus) with 'epilepsy' (a seizure disorder), so the meaning — epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by specific external stimuli — is directly derivable from the constituents. This modifier+noun compounding is a common, transparent pattern and has clear parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.
Etymology
Reflex epilepsy uses reflex to mean a quick, automatic reaction and epilepsy for seizures. It means when a specific outside thing, like a flashing light or a sound, acts as a 'trigger' and the brain has that automatic reaction, so the name shows why the seizures follow those events.