<P> Masamune Shirow's manga and anime series Ghost in the Shell takes place in a (post) cyberpunk version of Earth in the near future . The series focuses on Japan, but several other nations figure prominently in some stories . The world of Ghost in the Shell features significant advances in technology, the most significant of which is the cyberbrain, a mechanical casing for the human brain that allows mental interface with the Internet and other networks . </P> <P> A cyberbrain (電脳, dennō) is a device in the fictional universe of Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow (and also in Shirow's later work Real Drive) that acts as a self - contained module containing, protecting, and interfacing an artificially augmented brain . The "brain" includes the brain stem but excludes the eyes, optic nerves, and most of the spine . By being physically self - contained, the cyberbrain allows the artificially augmented brain inside to function or be physically stored inside a body, to be physically transferred between bodies, or to be temporarily stored or transported outside any body . Cyberbrain implants, in conjunction with micromachines, allow the brain to initiate and maintain a connection to computer networks or other individuals who also possess a cyberbrain . This capability results in a number of unforeseen psychosocial phenomena whose emergence is a major plot element of the various Ghost in the Shell stories . </P> <P> The process of augmentation of the brain in this fashion is referred to in the series as "cyberization" (電脳 化, dennōka). It is not necessary for a subject to undergo complete cyberization, acquiring a full - body prosthesis, to support the cyberized brain; an individual may choose to only have their brain cyberized . Cyberization is imagined to take three distinct forms: </P>

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