For the second time this month, Britney Spears was taken to the hospital via ambulance. The jaunt occurred early this morning, and on her arrival Spears was placed on a "mental-health evaluation hold."

Just like the incident that led to her trip to the hospital on Jan. 3, Spears' latest hospitalization came with plenty of drama. The action came as a result of yet another call for a "5150" hold for a mental-health evaluation, which means that Spears is considered a threat to herself or those around her.

With two police helicopters hovering overhead, more than a dozen motorcycle officers and a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance swept through the front gates of Spears' hilltop Studio City residence shortly before 1 a.m. Spears was quickly taken into the ambulance and sent off to UCLA Medical Center, where she remains.

But unlike that earlier visit, which came after a lengthy standoff in which Spears refused to turn over custody of her children as called for by a judge, this one was reportedly planned by a psychiatrist assigned by Spears' family to treat the troubled 26-year-old pop star. The psychiatrist was alarmed by the singer's recent reckless driving and odd behavior.

According to TMZ.com, the psychiatrist launched the plan to have Britney committed to UCLA Medical Center by calling the police, and that LAPD officials were briefed on the plan in advance. To minimize paparazzi hysteria about the ambulance trip, police even used code, referring to Spears as "the package" when she was transported from her home to the ambulance.

Unlike the first hospital trip, in which Spears' ambulance was closely pursued by a throng of photographers, vehicles today were blocked from following the same route. The line of emergency vehicles stretched longer than a football field, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Spears' life has been in a downward spiral for much of the past two years. She divorced husband Kevin Federline last July, a move that many thought was a good one at the time. But since then, her bizarre behavior has been alarming even by Hollywood standards. She has entered rehab multiple times, shaved her head, befriended members of the paparazzi who watch her every move, and brought along a paparazzo pal on trips to a courthouse in her child-custody case.

Spears lost temporary custody of her two young sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, and after the Jan. 3 incident, she even lost visitation rights to the children.