Axis 4: Basal Ganglia / Cerebellar Motor Gating in Benzodiazepine Withdrawal

Week 6 of 12-week Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Biology series.

Motor agitation, inner restlessness, pacing, and imbalance can reflect stress-sensitive basal ganglia and cerebellar motor-gating circuits.

When GABA inhibition becomes unstable, these motor control loops lose inhibitory precision and become overreactive, allowing state-dependent motor phenomena—including akathisia-like restlessness and coordination disturbances—to emerge. These are expressions of circuit instability, not anxiety or behavioral agitation.