Focal seizures are those in which the area that is activated at the onset of the seizure is limited to a group of neurons.

In focal seizures, the patient may have a completely normal consciousness and be able to communicate and remember what happened during the seizure. They are said to be simple focal or partial seizures.

When in a focal seizure the patient cannot relate to his environment or cannot remember what has happened, it is said to be a complex partial seizure. Focal seizures may generalize and culminate in a generalized tonic-clonic seizure.