Welcome to The Institute for BioFunctional Psychology (formerly the Neurotransmitters of NOW). The term  Functional Psychology has a long and influential history as it has contributed substantially to thge field of psychology.  Functional Psychology refers to a general psychological approach that views mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. Functional Medicine refers to a new and revolutionary field of medicine which applies in-depth, laboratory, diagnostic testing to define the causes of diseases in order to "cure" them as opposed to covering up the symptoms of diseases with medication. Putting these terms together gives us BioFunctional Psychology, defined as the use of laboratory diagnostic tools, such as brain imagery (e.g., Computerized EEG) and laboratory testing of toxicities, nutritional deficiencies, food allergies and neurotransmitter and hormone imbalances, to define the causes of brain dysfunction.  The mission of The Institute for BioFunctional Psychology is to educate the healthcare consumers and professional communities that such diagnostic technologies exist which are capable of diagnosing, preventing and reversing chronic disorders and disabilities which prevent individuals from functioning at their highest genetic potential.
  This website had previously been named The Neurotransmitters of Now (www.neurotransmittersofnow.com) which refers to the fact that by virtue of its structure and function, optimal functioning of the brain occurs when a full complement of neurotransmitters are available and that those neurotransmitters and the connectivities within the brain are designed to counteract stress and promote inward peace.  The term "NOW" refers to a psychological principle popularized in the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.  
  Neurotransmitters are molecules used by cells in our brain (neurons) to communicate with one another.  Based on recent discoveries in the neurosciences, some of these neurotransmitters are involved with keeping us happy and at peace with ourselves and with the world around us by modifying pain and stress and/or by enhancing joy and pleasure.  For thousands of years, the depth of mental suffering experienced by an individual has been recognized to be proportional to the amount of time they devote to worrying about their future (fear) and/or the time spent holding on to resentments and guilt-related "unresolved" past events (anger or hate towards self or other).  In other words, the less focused one becomes on the immediate circumstances in one's life, the NOW, and the more preoccupied one becomes with the past and/or future, the more likely it becomes that one will experience mental suffering. 
  Until very recently in human history, this phenomenon of mental suffering was thought to be exclusively related to one's social, psychological or "psychospiritual" condition.  However, due to neuroscientific discoveries, we now know that the state of one's brain biochemistry and function is also often a critical factor in dictating the depth of mental suffering which one experiences, and that the brain biochemistry involved with the function of neurotransmitters, their receptors and the conveyance of information plays a very significant role in this regard.  The neurotransmitters which appear to downregulate a preoccupation with the past and future and assist us in living in the NOW are referred to here as the Neurotransmitters of the NOW, and when they are not operating normally for a wide array of reasons, mental suffering can worsen.  This website is mostly devoted to optimizing the role which the Neurotransmitters of the NOW play so that mental suffering can be lessened and individuals can engage more successfully in those time proven methods of psychological healing, such as psychotherapy, meditation and prayer. 
  Many people, perhaps most of humanity in this age of environmental  toxicity and junk food, probably have neurotransmitter imbalances and brain toxicity which significantly impairs their functioning.  Perhaps most people so affected may believe their dysfunction is normal or that there is little they can do about it.  Or, despite their admirable attempts to tackle mental suffering, they may have been stymied from attaining expected benefits from psychospiritual paths, psychotherapy, meditation or prayer, simply because their brain chemistry is a mess.  For instance, over 25% of Americans are recognized to have a mental disorder (using current behavioral criteria provided to us by the American Psychiatric Association) and undoubtedly most of those who suffer from mental disorders have causative biochemical imbalances and brain imagery (e.g., Computerized EEG) abnormalities which are easily detectable using standard laboratory testing and neuroimagery and after testing the abnormalities are entirely reversible. 
  But a much higher percentage of people who might not be classified as having a mental disorder, are nevertheless likely to be functioning suboptimally and experiencing unnecessary mental suffering due to easily corrected brain toxicities, nutritional deficiencies, neurotransmitter imbalances functional impairments. This website is about empowering healthcare consumers to correct these problems often without the need for professional supervision, or for those with more severe dysfunction, this website can help consumers get the help they need.
  Other neurotransmitters, instead of functioning like the Neurotransmitters of the NOW and lessening mental suffering, can actually make it worse.  For instance, norepinephrine (AKA noradrenaline), has been shown to drive the primitive "fight or flight response" which underlies the experience of anger (fight) and fear (flight).  Our fight or flight response unquestionably helped our ancestors survive and may even occasionally help us get through true emergencies which arise in modern life. An acute norepinephrine - driven, fight or flight response may make an experience vivid and enhance an experience of the NOW.  But neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine which drive stress are designed to only handle short, time-limited emergencies, and when the emergency is resolved the fight or flight response is supposed to quickly shut down so that our brain and body chemistry and can return to normal, to a peaceful NOW experience.  If noradrenaline continues way beyond its intended, normal period of activation, chronic stress and burnout can ensue, analogous to what would happen if a car engine was perpetually revved.

  You may have noticed that much of human activity is driven by chronic stress, a fight (hate) or flight (fear) response which seems to continue interminably in some people.  In fact, you may also have noticed that your mind is at times caught up in anger (e.g., resentments from the past) and fear (e.g., anxiety about the future) and that these emotional states can hang on and interfere with your happiness and functioning.  You may have asked yourself questions like, “Why is there so much hate and fear in the world?” or “Why does my own mind get preoccupied with resentment and anxiety?” Because all humans share the same basic genetic code and we are generally constructed the same way, your/my hate and fear, being played out in our own minds, is actually the same basic hate and fear happening all around the world.  It is simply part of our basic anatomy and physiology, and it won’t go away in us, or the world, until we first embrace and accept it completely with full awareness in ourselves, essentially as part of our anatomy (like accepting that you have arms and legs) which then allows us to compassionately accept that others are also subject to the ravages of the fight or flight response.  This website is also about engaging in becoming mindful of ones fight (anger) or flight (fear) response, and how optimizing brain biochemistry assists in the functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain where mindfulness has been shown to largely originate. 

  For eons, all kinds of philosophies and religious positions have been taken about hate and fear, and the human tendency to act violently towards others.  Now that we have scientifically looked into the human brain and have proven that hate and fear and the tendency towards violence is simply an ancient and now essentially obsolete, but still very potent, survival mechanism, many of the moralistic, political, social and psychological positions about the causes of hate, fear and violence and various suggested solutions have become obsolete.  On the other hand, the effects of time-proven, spirituality practices, handed down to us through the ages from various religious and philosophical traditions, can now be directly measured in brain scan studies.  The implications of these scientific discoveries will not only change your whole perspective about your life in a fundamental way. When they become more widely known, they will radically change human civilization and culture forever.   (more).