. however , focal abnormalities on electroencephalography ( eeg ) have also been observed in patients with generalized epilepsy . in such cases , it is supposed that the cortical focus drives widespread epileptic networks that results in generalized seizures . , we describe a patient who had eyelid myoclonia with absences , along with focal motor seizures . ictal video - eeg recording showed generalized spike  waves preceded by focal frontal discharges , suggesting that focal cortical abnormalities may induce eyelid myoclonia with absences . the patient is a 7-year - old boy who exhibited eyelid myoclonia with absence seizures . since the age of 5  years , he complained of involuntary movements of the eyelids , which occurred a few times per week . a physician diagnosed this as a tic disorder . however , his parents and brother noticed brief episodes of unresponsiveness , often associated with jerks of the eyelids , lasting 35  s. these episodes gradually increased in frequency , occurring many times a day . eyelid movement appeared like rapid blinking and was often accompanied with upward deviation of the eyeballs and retropulsion of the head . 1 ) . further , eeg recording during the interictal period showed normal background activity and focal epileptiform discharges over the frontal regions ( fig . however , he experienced a focal motor seizure with impairment of consciousness and a generalized tonic seizure during sleep in the next 2  years . the focal seizures consisted of clonic movements of the right upper limb and upward deviation of the eyeballs , lasting less than a minute . the onset of the generalized seizure was not detected . when the patient started to have focal seizures , he underwent mri scanning of the brain , the result of which showed no abnormality . we describe the case of a patient with eyelid myoclonia with absences who had been misdiagnosed with facial tic disorder . our patient had eyelid myoclonia that appeared like rapid blinking and was often associated with jerky upward deviation of the eyeballs and retropulsion of the head . the absences were brief , lasting 35  s. ictal eeg revealed 4- to 5-hz generalized polyspike  waves . these electroclinical features were in contrast to those of a typical absence seizure in childhood absence epilepsy wherein the eyes look straight ahead , and the absence seizures are associated with 3-hz spike - and - wave discharges over a longer duration . eyelid myoclonia has been well recognized as the clinical feature of seizures in individuals with generalized epilepsy . jeavons syndrome , a form of generalized epilepsy , is clinically characterized by the triad of eyelid myoclonia with or without absences , eye closure - induced seizures or eeg paroxysms , and photosensitivity . electroencephalographic manifestations have been described as focal frontal or occipital predominant epileptiform discharges followed by generalized epileptiform discharges in both interictal and ictal recordings . thus , it has been suggested that either the frontal or the occipital lobe initiates eyelid myoclonia . a recent cortical stimulation study has demonstrated that vertical upward eye movements can be induced by electrical stimulation of the frontal eye field ( fef ) , which is located in the frontal cortex . upward deviation of the eyeballs occured with frontal epileptiform activity in a patient with epilepsy . a subgroup of children with absence epilepsy showed an eeg epileptic abnormality with frontal onset of the typical generalized 3-hz spike - and - wave discharges . dense - array eeg , a technique that improves the spatial resolution of scalp eeg , has demonstrated that selective cortical networks in the frontal lobe are involved in the propagation of ictal discharges in absence seizures . further , microarchitectural abnormalities in the frontal lobe have also been reported as potential facilitators of seizures in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy , another generalized epilepsy . in generalized epilepsy , many brain regions have a tendency to reach an epileptogenicity level that exceeds the seizure threshold . thus , generalized seizures may start from focal brain regions and tend to generalize very fast . eyelid myoclonia with absences may represent a type of secondarily generalized seizure originating in the frontal lobe . in conclusion , our case suggests an important role of the frontal lobe in the generation of eyelid myoclonia with absences . eyelid myoclonia with absences is a unique type of absence seizure associated with a variety of epilepsy syndromes . our case supports the concept that there is no absolute distinction between generalized and focal epilepsy but rather a continuum .