Science & Technology

'Eternal Sunshine' therapy could replace bad memories with good ones

By T.K. Randall
January 6, 2026

Image: Quintephone Brainwave Regen Poster
Credit: Glogger / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) We all have memories of things we'd rather forget, so what if it were possible to replace unfavorable memories with positive memories of things that never even happened ?

It's a concept explored in movies such as Total Recall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Now according to Professor Steve Ramirez, a neuroscientist at Boston University, technology like this may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.

Motivated by the death of his lab partner, Ramirez set out to explore whether individual memories could be identified and manipulated in the brain. Using brain cells activated by light, he was able to pinpoint specific memories in mice and successfully implant new, false ones.

Remarkably, he was also able to restore a memory that had previously been lost using the same technique.

But could something like this really be done in humans ?According to Ramirez, the key lies in how memories are stored and recalled in our brains.

"We know that when we recall the memory, it's not a video of the past, but it's a reconstructive process where we pull the book of memory out of the library, and when it's at the forefront of our mind, we inadvertently start sketching details into that memory," he told Mail Online.

To manipulate memories, a combination of drugs and cognitive behavioral therapy could be used.

As always, however, there is the potential for abuse.

"One potential problem is that people might manipulate memories to sell products, just like how, today, that five-second ad you see on social media grows in your head like a seed until it becomes a decision," he said.

"If we know all that information is encoded in the brain, even to the point of guiding behavior, we should hope that this knowledge is used for the greater good - as opposed to for selling products or for marketing."

Source: Mail Online

Tags: Memory, Brain