Addiction

Spencer Paul Barrow, born May 17, 1976, died Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, after a long, difficult battle with drug addiction. A funeral will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Syracuse 7th Ward Chapel, 1625 S. 1100 West. Friends may visit family from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Road, and from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the church. Interment, Syracuse City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to the Valley Rehabilitation Facility, P.O. Box 9584, Ogden, UT 84409. Condolences may be posted at www.lindquistmortuary.com. See the complete obituary in the Standard-Examiner's e-edition.

Fourteen-year-olds who were frequent video gamers had more gray matter in the rewards center of the brain than peers who didn't play video games as much -- suggesting that gaming may be correlated to changes in the brain, much as addictions are.

European scientists reported the discovery Tuesday in the journal Translational Psychiatry. Psychologist Simone Kuhn of Ghent University in Belgium and colleagues recruited 154 healthy 14-year-olds in Berlin and divided them into two groups. Twenty-four girls and 52 boys were frequent gamers who played at least nine hours of video games each week. Fifty-eight girls and 20 boys were infrequent gamers, who played less than nine hours a week.

Centerville -- Addiction counselor and singer/songwriter Rachelle Call will present "A Night in Recovery" today.

The program will feature music performed by Call and several other musicians as well as inspirational messages from recovery addiction specialists. It will be held at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts, 525 N. 400 West, and features Rich Uhl, a facilitator from the LDS Church's Addiction Recovery program.

SOUTH OGDEN -- A Bible-based recovery effort at Washington Heights Church similar to a 12-step program has been so successful, organizers are encouraging other churches to offer similar groups.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida's prescription-drug epidemic -- already responsible for nearly seven deaths a day -- is taking its toll on the youngest, most vulnerable in its communities: newborns.

In 2009, nearly 1,000 babies born in Florida hospitals were treated for drug-withdrawal syndrome. They're irritable. They don't eat well. They can spend days, even weeks, detoxing.

And the number is skyrocketing.

OGDEN -- A multimillion-dollar grant will allow Weber County to provide more access to treatment for people with addictions.