Could Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Be A Reality?

By: Olivia Mickles

Friedrich Nietzsche insightfully noted, “Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.” This quote encapsulates the emotional core of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which depicts the ambivalent process of erasing another person from one’s memory by following Joel Barish on his journey to getting his ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski, erased from his memory after discovering she had erased him from hers. This is done through the company Lacuna Inc., which provides the seemingly impossible possibility to literally erase memories that make one unhappy. Clementine was so unhappy with Joel, and Joel was so distraught by Clementine erasing him, that they both sought out Lacuna’s procedure to experience complete no-trace forgetting (Gondry, 2004). Yet, could someone completely forget a specific individual person like in this film? In the following paper, I will discuss how technology could be developed to target and manipulate memories, similar to the movie, and how we can understand the ways in which the brain can naturally forget someone. Complete no-trace forgetting is not entirely possible, but there have been neuroscientific findings that support the ability to physically manipulate memories, studies done on those with memory degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, as well as theories debated on the topic of forgetting memories.  

Memories leave a physical trace in our brains, and scientists are getting closer and closer to replicating memory manipulation as depicted in the movie. Gross et al. (2013) examined whether

memories could be seen forming in real time, and discovered that it is, in fact, possible in mice. They created a recombinant antibody-like protein, Fibronectin intrabodies generated with mRNA display (FingRs), that attach to traceable neural receptors called PSD-95 and Gephyrin. Then, green fluorescent protein from a certain species of jellyfish was injected into the mice, and the scientists could see the proteins collecting around receptors, forming memories. Knowing that PSD-95 is at excitatory sites and Gephyrin is at inhibitory sites within synapses, using FingR technology, researchers can see which proteins hold memory related synapses and observe when the FingRs are expressed, forming a memory. The researchers in this study also hypothesize that FingR can be used to track synaptic strength in the brains of live mice before and after learning a cognitive task or during sleep and wake cycles. Therefore, it could be feasible in the future to associate changes in synaptic structures with activity at the cellular level, such as memory formation. 

The neurological process discovered by Gross et al. (2013) proposes a way that memories can be mapped that is similar to the technology at Lacuna Inc. The whole procedure in the film relies on the ability to pinpoint specific cores of memories and their location in the brain.While FingR technology only allows for visualization as of now, it is a foundational step towards this fictional, surgical method of identifying and erasing memories. The movie depicts detailed maps of the brain with specific neural clusters highlighted to signify individual memories in Joel’s brain. This finding demonstrates that memories have physical traces, and provides convincing evidence that the procedure done to Joel and Clementine could one day be feasible. 

Going beyond locating and mapping memories, Roy et al. (2016) seek to use optogenetics to retrieve lost memories in mice that were genetically engineered to mimic having Alzheimer’s disease. In the early stages of this disease, memory decline is mainly caused by dysfunction in the hippocampus and episodic memories. In the genetically-altered mice, researchers used optogenetic activation to manipulate the hippocampus’ memory cells.

This procedure uses blue light to control the activity of genetically-modified light-sensitive engram cells, which are responsible for storing memories by activating during learning experiences. Their aim was for optogenetic activation to cause the retrieval of forgotten memories in the mice that were proven to be lost in previous long term memory tests. This outcome would demonstrate an impairment in retrieval rather than a problem with encoding or the storage of memories. However, in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease, amyloid plaque deposition takes place, leading to reduced spine density of hippocampal dentate gyrus engram cells. Using optogenetic laser techniques to activate long term potentiation at those cells minimally restored both long term memory and spine density. The authors concluded that restoring spine density in engram cells in the hippocampus could be an effective treatment for restoring memory in Alzheimer's disease patients. This research solidifies the premise that a memory can be isolated, manipulated, and activated using scientific technology. Still, it also provides evidence that complete no trace forgetting of a person is not possible given the mice’s memories had been lost, then recovered.

Roy et al.’s (2016) research on memory retrieval using optogenetics validates the premise of the film, even though the scientists in the study restored memory instead of erasing it. In the film, Dr. Mierzwiak informs Joel that the erasure procedure infiltrates the brain to get rid of the emotional core of memories, and likewise Roy et. al were able to isolate and manipulate specific memory engrams, demonstrating that memory can be accessed at its source. For Lacuna to successfully erase memories of a person, they have to be able to pinpoint episodic memories in a similar way. Modern science is getting closer to being able to replicate the procedure done in the film, so if we can bring memories back, then why can we not figure out how to erase them?

Dr. Mierzwiak, in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, told Joel that the erase procedure can technically be considered as brain damage given that they are infiltrating the brain, finding the emotional core of each memory, and getting rid of the core to start the memory degradation process (Gondry, 2004). While physically manipulating memories themselves would bring us closer

to the procedure done in the film, Redondo et al. (2014) found another way to manipulate memories to create an “eternal sunshine”. They identified a brain circuit that links feelings to memories and found that they could change rats' feelings about a memory from negative to positive. Rats were labeled with channelrhodopsin-2, a key tool in optogenetics for controlling neural activity, in either the dorsal dentate gyrus (DG) or the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA),

and then exposed either to fear or reward conditioning stimuli. Using an optogenetic laser to activate the DG or BLA, the researchers observed that the fear conditioned rats became extremely avoidant. After being subjected to reward conditioning to induce the opposite emotion, the DG group experienced a change in emotion, but the BLA group did not. In the dentate gyrus, the memory engram of a neural context is plastic, so the valence of a conditioned response can be switched by re-associating the previous memory with a new unconditioned stimulus of the opposite emotion. This provides insight into the functional neural pathways that underlie the true plasticity of memory; and at least if we cannot entirely erase a memory, then we can scientifically change the way we feel about it.  

The reason Joel underwent the erase procedure was to alter how he feels. But when the memories started to erase, he realized that all he really wanted was to get rid of the unresolved feelings attached to the memories of Clementine, not to forget her completely. If we have the ability to re-valence a memory, as shown to be possible by optogenetics, we could keep the experience of a memory while removing any unwanted feelings. Yet, experiencing, remembering, and moving on from things is what helps us learn and grow as people. The film itself ends with Joel and Clementine hearing the recording of everything that they once said about the other and choosing to stay together to work things out. They are choosing to move forward, so unlike how they ran away from experiencing their emotions in the past. Using optogenetics to the advantage of avoiding emotional struggle is the scientifically feasible achievement of an “eternal sunshine.” Then, the question is should it be used for that purpose given it goes against a necessary human experience?

More than that, forgetting a person is also a natural and unfortunate consequence of dementia related diseases, like Alzheimer’s. Parsons-Suhl et al. (2008) explored how Alzheimer’s disease progressed in various different individuals’ cases and how they perceived that experience. They used Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology which holds the basic assumptions that humans are always relating to other people and things in the world, and that meaning is always in the context of relationships. The research participants consisted of three men and nine women who had been diagnosed with either early stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment. Data was collected from an in-person interview with each participant where they were asked to tell a story that they feel illustrates what it is like to live with AD or mild cognitive impairment, and then they were asked to describe the breakdown of their memory from the initial realization to the debilitating loss. The responses overall mentioned a similar progression of loss, starting off as being aware that they no longer remembered to do small tasks that they normally do daily, such as taking a pot off the stove. Then, the forgetfulness continued and got more severe as time went on until they experienced symptoms like getting disoriented at random or forgetting where they were in a familiar place. Some participants stated that they just had to learn to accept and live with the forgetting, but, without being able to make memories or remember simple information, they felt disconnected from the world and the people around them. If meaning is always in the context of relationships, what meaning does life or relationships have if you cannot hold onto memories? People with Alzheimer’s and other dementias have to deal with the possibility of completely forgetting people in the later stages of their disease. They would develop a, metaphorically speaking, “spotless mind” and may no longer be able to recognize familiar people like friends and family, or even their own reflection (Parsons-Suhl et al., 2008). 

Joel and Clementine are experiencing the erasure of only one person and the memories connected with them. They were both still themselves as they went about their daily lives unscathed, with Clementine even getting a new boyfriend, much to Joel’s dismay (Gondry, 2004). Someone with Alzheimer’s, or another form of dementia, loses all of themself to the disease and is experiencing real brain damage unlike the kind of targeted “brain damage” of Joel and Clementine’s treatment. While dementia is a real world form of no-trace forgetting, it is uncontrollable and unsolicited unlike the procedure Joel wanted and regretted. Losing memory so completely and unexpectedly is a loss of self and identity, not a fresh start. 

Beyond the neurological and technological possibilities of memory manipulation as seen in the film and scientific research, there are also psychological theories that can offer insight into how to forget painful memories. One theory by Johnson (1994) suggests that people practice segregation, creating a separate representation in their mind for forgotten and remembered information and then suppressing the forgotten information in order to make chosen memories difficult to access. Subjects in this study initially learned a set of items, some they are cued to remember (R-cued) and others they are cued to forget (F-cued). They are told to create a mental representation of the items that connect the information, and then a global forget instruction is given that tells them to forget the whole set of items learned. Representational changes occur in memory when there is segregation of F-cued and R-cued information, disrupting the links between the two. R-cued information was thought to be able to be retrieved without remembering the F-cued material. This would be intentional forgetting; but could it actually be achieved? The researchers found that two postretrieval processes can lead to intentional forgetting. One is rule-based where the subject reviews all items but only produces a response to the R-cued items. The other process is theory-based where one can adjust their response due to how the F-cued items influenced that response, positively or negatively. This study  demonstrated that providing an F-cue to initially learned items decreases interference with R-cued items. This practice is not the same as erasing, but is a non-technical mechanism that can ease suffering caused by remembering through intentionally forgetting specific information.

Like all beings, Joel and Clementine have control over their own beliefs and thoughts, for they are the ones having them; therefore they also have control over their memories. Unlike Lacuna’s scientific approach, segregation is an internal and conscious process one can use to manage their own mental environment. This technique draws upon a person’s “duty to forget” mindset that involves self regulation and management (Johnson, 1994), and is a non-invasive way to process painful memories. An individual using segregation can create emotional distance and boundaries to lessen the effects of remembering another person or event without sacrificing their identity or brain structure. Segregating suggests that “eternal sunshine” comes not from physically draining the brain of all memories of a person or event, but from the difficult process of internal memory management. This approach is probably what Joel and Clementine should have tried before jumping straight to total, irreversible erasure that ended up doing more harm than good in the long run. In the real world, if we were one day able to bypass processing emotional information, it would mean so many people would lack the wisdom that comes with learning from life. If Lacuna’s technology in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind existed in real life, millions would be able to erase valuable memories of past love that haunt them in the present like Joel and Clementine.

Could someone completely forget a specific individual? No, not yet at least, and no one should try to. Using technology to erase memories is a dangerous shortcut that defies what it means to be human, to feel deep emotions, learn from them, and carry them all with you throughout your life. Modern science has been making revolutionary breakthroughs in memory manipulation with some results that could get closer to the procedure of the film, yet, still, researchers have not yet found any true, possible way to completely erase a memory. One cannot naturally and completely forget someone without damage to the brain, but healthier methods exist with theories and practices that can help one ease heartache. Overall, this movie brings to light that eternal sunshine is not found in a spotless mind, but rather in a mind that accepts a painful past, goes through the hard work of learning to let go, and chooses to remember again and again. 

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References 

Gondry, M. (Director). (2004). Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Focus Features.  

Gross, G. G., Junge, J. A., Mora, R. J., Kwon, H. B., Olson, C. A., Takahashi, T. T., Liman, E. R., Ellis-Davies, G. C. R., McGee, A. W., Sabatini, B. L., Roberts, R. W., & Arnold, D. B. (2013). Recombinant Probes for Visualizing Endogenous Synaptic Proteins in Living Neurons. Neuron, 78(6), 971–985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.04.017  

Johnson, H. M. (1994). Processes of Successful Intentional Forgetting. Psychological Bulletin, 116(2), 274-292. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.2.274  

Parsons-Suhl, K., Johnson, M. E., McCann, J. J., & Solberg, S. (2008). Losing One’s Memory in Early Alzheimer’s Disease. Qualitative Health Research, 18(1), 31-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732307308987 

Redondo, R. L., Kim, J., Arons, A. L., Ramirez, S., Liu, X., & Tonegawa, S. (2014). Bidirectional switch of the valence associated with a hippocampal contextual memory engram. Nature, 513, 426-430. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13725   

Roy, D. S., Arons, A., Mitchell, T. I., Pignatelli, M., Ryan, T. J., & Tonegawa, S. (2016). Memory retrieval by acitivng engram cells in mouse model of early Alzheimer’s disease. Nature, 531,508-512. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17172