A good memory could be all in the mind, according to a Victoria University study that tricked participants into improving memory performance using placebos. PhD researcher Dr Sophie Parker wanted to see how placebos can improve our recall of the past and help us remember to do things in the future. Dr Parker set up three elaborate trials of a placebo “cognitive enhancing drug” (vitamin C in water) with around 300 first year psychology students. "We went to great lengths to create a believable story about this so-called drug", she says, including a fictional pharmaceutical company and fake website. Participants given the placebo "unwittingly acted in ways that improved their memory", Dr Parker says. Rather than relying on "automatic memory processes" the students engaged in "more effortful monitoring" resulting in better performance of tasks. While the placebo group reported boosted memory, responses, concentration and senses, the control group - not given the sham drug - showed no real change. "People are now using a range of substances aimed at improving memory and responsiveness," says Dr Parker, "from herbal supplements such as ginko biloba to drugs like Ritalin which students in the US are using to stay awake while studying." She says her research helps in determining the effectiveness of so-called 'smart drugs'. Ginko biloba is frequently taken to boost memory but a recent US report in the December 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association concluded the supplement had no more effect on memory and concentration than placebo.