A method of treating a brain disorder by
heat transfer from
brain tissue comprising the steps of surgically
cutting a
heat transfer aperture into a patient's
skull, thereby exposing a predetermined portion of patient's brain; surgically implanting into said
heat transfer aperture a
heat pump having one or more electrical sensor elements and one or more temperature sensor elements; surgically implanting a heat transfer
management unit in a
body cavity of said patient such that a micro controller of the heat transfer
management unit is connected to one or more activity sensor elements and one or more temperature sensor elements contacting
brain tissue and connecting the heat transfer
management unit to said
heat pump via a lead bundle. Optionally, the heat transfer unit may be located external to the patient's body. Responsive to signals from one or more activity or temperature sensor elements, mathematical algorithms of the heat transfer management unit determine abnormal brain activity, causing the
heat pump to remove heat from the
brain tissue into a
heat sink, thereby cooling the predetermined portion of the patient's brain. This technique utilizes acute
hypothermia by means of a Peltier cooler or similar device to cool the brain temperature to reduce or prevent seizure
initiation and / or propagation. The method may be used in association with
brain stimulation and / or
drug application to acutely avoid the occurrence of a seizure episode.