1970 International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification of seizures

1. Partial seizuresor (seizures beginning locally)

1. Partial seizures (With elementary symptomatology, generally without impairment of consciousne)
   1. With motor symptoms
      1. focal motor (without march) (including localized epileptic myoclonus)
      2. jacksonian
      3. versive (generally contraversive)
      4. postural
      5. somatic inhibitory (?)
      6. aphasic
      7. phonatory (vocalization and arrest of speech)
   2. With special sensory or somatosensory symptoms
   3. 1. somato-sensory
      2. visual
      3. auditory
      4. olfactory
      5. gustatory
      6. vertiginous
      7. With autonomic symptoms
      8. Compound forms
2. Partial seizures (With Complex Symptomatology (generally with impairment of consciousness, may sometimes begin with elementary symptomatology))
   1. With impaired consciousness only
   2. With cognitive symptomatology
      1. with dysmnesic disturbances (conscious amnesia, déjà vu, déjà vécu)
      2. with ideational disturbances (including “forced thinking”，dreamy state…)
   3. With affective symptomatology
   4. With “psychosensory” symptomatology
      1. illusions (e.g. : macropsia, metamorphopsia…)
      2. hallucinations
   5. With “psychomotor” symptomatology (automatisms)
   6. Compound forms
3. Partial seizuressecondarily generalized (all forms of partial seizures, with elementary or elaborated symptomatology, can develop into generalized seizures, sometimes so rapidly that the focal features may be unobservable. These generalized seizures may be symmetrical or asymmetrical, tonic or clonic, but most often tonic-clonic in type)

2、Generalized seizures, bilateral symmetrical seizures or seizures without local onset

1. absences
   1. Simple absences, with impairment of consciousness only
   2. Complex absences, with other phenomena associated with impairment of consciousness
      1. with mild clonic components (myoclonic absences)
      2. with increase of postural tone (retropulsive absences)
      3. with diminution or ablution of postural tone (atonic absences)
      4. with automatisms (automatic absences)
      5. with autonomic phenomena (e.g. enuretic absences)
      6. as mixed forms
2. Bilateral massive epileptic myoclonus (Myoclonic jerks)
3. infantile spasms
4. Clonic seizures
5. Tonic seizures
6. Tonic-clonic seizures (‘‘grand mal” seizures)
7. Atonic seizures (sometimes associated with myoclonic jerks (myoclonic-atonic seizures))
   1. of very brief duration (epileptic drop attacks)
   2. of longer duration (including atonic absences)
8. Akinetic seizures (loss of movement without atonia)

3. Unilateral or predominantly (Characterised by clonic, tonic or tonic-clonic convulsions, with or without an impairment of consciousness, expressed only or predominantly in one side. Such seizures sometimes shift from one side to the other but usually do not become symmetrical）

4. Unclassified epileptic seizures (Includes all seizures which cannot be classified)

References:

1、Gastaut, H., Clinical and electroencephalographical classification of epileptic seizures.Epilepsia, 1970. 11(1): p. 102-13.