Abstract: Memory deficits lead to distortion when long recall periods are used to assess alcohol consumption. We used the recently developed Internet-based cell phone-optimised assessment technique (ICAT) to describe the drinkingpatterns of youngpeopleover the course of Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and to compare the amounts reported during the drinking sessions in question with those in the retrospective baseline assessment. Methods Using hyperlinks in text messages sent to their cell phones over five weeks, 183 young adults in French-speaking Switzerland completed a total of 8646 questionnaires at 8 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, 11 pm, midnight and 11 am the next morning over 1441 evenings. Findings Participants consumed an average of three drinks on Thursday evenings, four on Friday evenings and five and a half on Saturday evenings. The multi-group and multi-level latent growth curves showed that while the difference was minimal at the beginning of the evening, consumption decreased over the course of the evening on Thursdays, remained about stable on Fridays and increased on Saturdays between both genders. The amounts indicated in the evening assessments were up to twice as high as those indicated retrospectively. Conclusions Using participants’ cell phones, ICAT appears to be a convenient method for collecting alcohol-related data throughout the evening. Due to the significant impact of eveningdrinkingpatterns on the total amount consumed and related consequences, it is important to prevent the average increase of drinking that is likely to occur on Saturday evenings among youngpeople.

Abstract: Imaging studies have revealed neurochemical and functional changes in the brains of drug-addicted subjects that provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying addiction. Neurochemical studies have shown that large and fast increases in dopamine are associated with the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse, but also that after chronic drug abuse and during withdrawal, brain dopamine function is markedly decreased and these decreases are associated with dysfunction of prefrontal regions (including orbitofrontal cortex and cingulate gyrus). The changes in brain dopamine function are likely to result in decreased sensitivity to natural reinforcers since dopamine also mediates the reinforcing effects of natural reinforcers and on disruption of frontal cortical functions, such as inhibitory control and salience attribution. Functional imaging studies have shown that during drug intoxication, or during craving, these frontal regions become activated as part of a complex pattern that includes brain circuits involved with reward (nucleus accumbens), motivation (orbitofrontal cortex), memory (amygdala and hippocampus), and cognitive control (prefrontal cortex and cingulate gyrus). Here, we integrate these findings and propose a model that attempts to explain the loss of control and compulsive drug intake that characterize addiction. Specifically, we propose that in drug addiction the value of the drug and drug-related stimuli is enhanced at the expense of other reinforcers. This is a consequence of conditioned learning and of the resetting of reward thresholds as an adaptation to the high levels of stimulation induced by drugs of abuse. In this model, during exposure to the drug or drug-related cues, the memory of the expected reward results in overactivation of the reward and motivation circuits while decreasing the activity in the cognitive control circuit. This contributes to an inability to inhibit the drive to seek and consume the drug and results in compulsive drug intake. This model has implications for therapy, for it suggests a multi-prong approach that targets strategies to decrease the rewarding properties of drugs, to enhance the rewarding properties of alternative reinforcers, to interfere with conditioned-learned associations, and to strengthen cognitive control in the treatment of drug addiction.

Abstract: Die CVP-Nationalrätin und Familienpolitikerin Lucrezia Meier-Schatz engagiert sich seit Jahren dafür, dass nur noch Grossverdienende zur Verwandtenunterstützung verpflichtet werden können.

Abstract: Die neuen SKOS-Richtlinien zur Verwandtenunterstützung folgen der aktuellen Rechtsprechung des Bundesgerichts. Eine Juristin und ein Jurist des Stadtluzerner Sozialamts erläutern einige Urteile und die Praxis in ihrem Rechtsdienst.