How is it possible for nothing but flashing lights to cause a seizure?
In: Biology
TLDR; Still under research, best described as “Abnormal Nerve Pattern that is constantly firing because of too much light”
Answer: You can compare this to that certain sound wave that caused glass to break, among other very weird things. Broadly speaking, beyond the retina, these areas are very bad at handling highly intense, highly synchronous stimuli (the flashing lights). Some research has suggested there is a certain pathway (google “parvocellular pathway”) is unable to restore a balance to the stimuli, and thus, repeated neuron firing in one or multiple areas of the brain occurs.
With that, this type of epilepsy represents a small percent of the population, which makes it a bit difficult to study (visual processing diverges a BUNCH throughout species)
It’s a pattern of sounds or vision in a certain frequency that causes brainwaves to activate in a specific rhythm. The rhythm of each person’s brain is different.
In those that are susceptible to epilepsy or seizures, these patterns can cause a positive feedback loop. Think of the wind blowing an empty swing set. If the timing is correct, the swing goes higher and higher.
I have epilepsy, and (not sure if this is universal) but it’s often not JUST flashing lights that causes a seizure. It’s flashing lights in tandem with loud noises, crowds, inebriation, or anything else that could be overstimulating.
From what i understand from my neurologist, your body goes into sensory overload and doesn’t know how to deal with it so it just seizes.
… and not everyone with epilepsy get seizures by flashing lights. All seizures originate in some part of the brain (Google the labeled parts) then you get any one kind of seizure. Partial, or a tonic-clonic which is usually the image people get when they hear epilepsy. So visual stimulation is handled mostly in the rear of the brain, in the occipital lobe and the visual cortex. So it’s likely an overstimulation for people with a predesposition for epilepsy in That part of the brain. Others can only get seizures triggered in the frontal or temporal lobe etc. They are never bothered by flashing lights
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