Long-term memories are not perfectly fixed
When a consolidated memory is reactivated during retrieval, it can temporarily enter a more plastic state before being stabilised again. This process is called reconsolidation and has been demonstrated across multiple forms of learning.
Retrieval can change what is later remembered
Human experiments show that reactivated memories can be modified by new learning or interference. Memory is reconstructive: each act of recall can combine stored information with present context rather than replaying an untouched archive.
Erasure is a much stronger claim
Reconsolidation studies do not show that clinicians can reliably select a complex autobiographical memory, erase its factual content and leave the rest of a person unchanged. Effects depend on memory type, timing, retrieval conditions and the intervention used.
The clinical promise is narrower and more realistic
Research has explored whether reconsolidation windows can reduce maladaptive emotional responses, including fear. Even when emotional impact changes, the person's declarative knowledge of an event can remain, which is very different from deleting the event.
Research record
Nader & Hardt (2009) — A single standard for memory: the case for reconsolidationReview · open sourceWalker et al. (2003) — Dissociable stages of human memory consolidation and reconsolidationPeer-reviewed · open sourceTronson & Taylor (2007) — Molecular mechanisms of memory reconsolidationReview · open sourceCan Memories Be Rewritten?
Direct answer: Yes, memories can be updated after they are reactivated, and recall itself can alter later remembering. No, current science cannot edit or erase complex personal memories with the precision of a computer file.
Memory reconsolidation is a real and important phenomenon. Popular 'memory rewrite' language becomes misleading when it implies precise, controllable deletion or replacement of autobiographical experience.