In 2020, epileptologist Selim R. Benbadis published a short but pointed letter to the editor in Epilepsy & Behavior: “Functional seizures? ‘So I still have seizures, right? The piece was in response to the growing enthusiasm for replacing “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures” (PNES) with the term “functional seizures” (or FS). Benbadis pushed back against this rebranding; […]
In their 2026 article “Approach to the Patient with FND: Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Developing a Treatment Plan,” published in Seminars in Neurology, Michael Daniel DeDominicis and Sarah Lidstone propose reframing functional neurological disorder (FND) as a brain network disorder involving altered predictive processing, attention, and sense of agency. They argue that moving away from older
I invite you to read our most recent blog post coming from a brilliant mind in the world of functional neurological disorder (FND) and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES): Steven Painter, founder and CEO of Neurolog. This is a groundbreaking app for functional neurological disorder symptoms that is poised to help thousands living with these symptoms
With new advances in understanding PNES, there have been changes in how the diagnosis is explained and what the condition itself is named. The shift, recommended by some professionals in the field, emphasizes the biological aspects of the disorder, removes reference to psychological elements (functional seizures), and seemingly provides a wider foundation for how to
I knew something was off as soon as I was standing at the edge of the fence. The female, Sasha, always came up to the fence to say hello to me. A small crowd had gathered in front of their enclosure. My eyes darted around, trying to find out what was wrong. I saw the male, Nico, sleeping on
Saving Stripes: A book about nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and a zoo Read More »
What is this?The Lorna Myers PNES Scholarship Fund is a dedicated financial aid program graciously administered by Epilepsy Alliance America and supported financially by Dr. Lorna Myers who donates all royalties from the sales of her book “Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: A guide” to the scholarship. This scholarship supports students who reside in the US and
Functional seizures: Sanitized terminological shifts may seem progressive but can be harmful Late last year, an ILAE Task Force proposal (Hingray et al., 2025) was published, urging that the term “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES)” be replaced with the new and improved “functional/dissociative seizures (F/DS).” It is my understanding that some of the ILAE task force
Abandoning the term “psychogenic nonepileptic seizures” (PNES) in favor of “functional (dissociative) seizures” or simply “functional seizures” needs to be examined. We need to consider possible unintended negative consequences of this name change. My sense of urgency comes from a troubling scenario I foresee. Read on and feel free to challenge me on this or
Choosing “functional seizures” over PNES: what might happen Read More »
The nonepileptic seizure Blog has invited author, Linda McClure, to tell us about her book “Mind Games.” It walks the reader through the experience of living with epilepsy and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), also known as functional/dissociative seizures. This is a unique group of patients, often excluded from research and that can be difficult to
Functional Seizures and Epilepsy: My dual diagnosis Read More »
Hello everyone,My name is Matina Alexis, and I’m so grateful to be here. I live with Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES), and I’m still in the process of healing. I continue to experience seizures, and through my diagnosis, I uncovered the deeper cause: repressed childhood trauma. I once believed I had already faced and understood my
Announcement: new poetry book by a young person living with PNES Read More »
