text: <answer> Epileptic seizures are caused by a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain. <context> epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures are caused by a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain. There are many different types of epileptic seizure. Any of us could potentially have a single epileptic seizure at some point in our lives. This is not the same as having epilepsy, which is a tendency to have seizures that start in the brain.