(HealthDay News) -- Epilepsy causes the nervous system to send abnormal and excessive electrical impulses. The result are seizures, which may be characterized by involuntary movements, periods of lack of awareness, and other behavioral changes.

The CDC says possible causes of epilepsy include:

• Oxygen deprivation, for example, while a child is being born.
• A brain infection, caused by an illness such as meningitis, encephalitis or a brain abscess.
• A traumatic head or brain injury.
• A stroke.
• A brain tumor.
• Alzheimer's disease.
• Certain genetic disorders.