Epileptic Syndromes and Visually Induced Seizures

Summary:  Seizures induced by photic (or visual) stimuli or photosensitive seizures can be observed in generalized or focal, idiopathic, or symptomatic epilepsies, in progressive neurodegenerative disorders, and even in the context of situation-related (acute symptomatic) seizures. In addition to this “transversal” presence of the photosensitive trait across various epilepsy types and diseases, some syndromes in which all, or almost all, seizures are induced by photic stimuli seem to have sufficient specificity and may be considered as syndromes of pure reflex photosensitive epilepsy. Here we review the clinical characteristic of the different types of photic-induced seizures and the main epileptic syndromes that are characterized by visual sensitivity either as the sole manifestation or as an accessory feature.