High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Partial seizures (also called focal seizures and localized seizures) are seizures which affect only a part of the brain at onset, and are split into two main categories; simple partial seizures and complex partial seizures A simple partial seizure will often be a precursor to a larger seizure such as a complex partial seizure, or a tonic-clonic seizure. When this is the case, the simple partial seizure is usually called an aura. Partial seizures are common in temporal lobe epilepsy.