A system for cooling the brain of a human subject, includes a cooling subsystem which inputs a flow of air or breathable gas, cool the air or breathable gas, and outputs cooled air or breathable gas which is delivered to a human subject. A flow control device controls a flow rate of the flow of the air or breathable gas input to the cooling subsystem and a flow rate of the cooled air or breathable gas delivered to the human subject. One or more flow rate sensors measure at least a flow rate of flow of cooled air or breathable gas. One or more temperature sensors measure at least a temperature of a brain and the temperature of the flow of cooled air or breathable gas. A controller adjusts a cooling rate, the temperature, and the flow rate of flow of cooled air or breathable gas delivered to the human subject to cool the brain of the human subject.
