Restless Legs: Striatal Dopamine-Opioid Hypersensitivity
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and opioid-withdrawal restlessness both produce night-worsening urges to move. A 2026 npj Parkinson’s Disease mouse study tied that overlap to hypersensitive striatal D1-mu-opioid receptor signaling in basal-ganglia motor circuits.1 Research Highlights 2 clinically similar states converged: restless legs syndrome and opioid-withdrawal restlessness both point toward a striatal D1-mu-opioid circuit that regulates …