Memories of past trauma could soon be 'dialed down' in the brain so they no longer haunt us, a leading neuroscientist has suggested.

The same techniques could offer tools so that addicts don't crave the drugs that are destroying them - and even reclaim memories lost to Alzheimer's disease or amnesia.

In his new book, How to Change a Memory, Professor Steve Ramirez explored a realm of science so advanced that, until now, it has only existed in sci-fi movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Total Recall.

And, as he chronicled both his breakthroughs experimenting on the brains of rodents at Boston University, as well as his grief over the death of his lab partner, Xu Liu, he revealed that rewriting human memories could one day become a common part of modern medicine.

Ramirez told Daily Mail he has been able to locate memories in mice using brain cells activated by light.

His team has then manipulated them by implanting false memories and reclaiming 'lost' ones.

The results, he said, have been 'pretty amazing,' suggesting the same might be possible in humans. 

He explained: 'Researchers have been able to successfully restore a memory that was thought to be forever lost, so that really begins shaking the foundations of what we think of when we think of memory.' 

Key to understanding the science is the fact that remembering something is 'not like hitting "Save" in Microsoft Word,' he pointed out. Rather, every time you remember something, that memory changes slightly.

'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.'

The next step to manipulate those memories through science, he claimed, is 'pretty simple.'

Drugs could be used to target cells holding specific memories, he said. Cognitive behavioral therapy or positive cues could also help make the desired changes.