September 2025

After a restful summer and sunny weather, CAMH researchers are back in full swing for a new academic year. This year, we're continuing to make progress on tackling the goals of the Connected CAMH strategic plan.

This month's brainbuzz™ features new findings in hormone delivery methods and cognition; an investment to advance open science and brain health innovation; and an interview about the first-ever youth-led study for post-pandemic recovery in Canada.

Aristotle Voineskos
Senior VP Research & Science; Joint VP, CAMH-UHN Partnership

Hormone therapy delivery method may influence memory after menopause, new CAMH study finds

Findings support precision approaches to hormone therapy for women in
midlife and beyond.

Estradiol, the most common form of the estrogens used in hormone therapy, may influence different types of memory during the menopausal transition and beyond depending on how it is delivered — through the skin or orally — according to new research led by Dr. Liisa Galea, senior scientist and womenmind Treliving Family Chair in Women’s Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Published in the journal Neurology, the study is the first to show that the same hormone can have distinct cognitive effects depending on delivery method — highlighting the need for more personalized approaches to women’s brain health.

The study analyzed data from 7,251 cognitively healthy postmenopausal participants using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a national research project following Canadians over 20 years to understand how different factors affect health and aging. Participants completed tests measuring episodic memory (recalling past events), prospective memory (remembering to perform future tasks) and executive function (planning and problem-solving). Among participants, 4 per cent used transdermal estradiol (delivered through the skin via patches, gels, or vaginal applications), 2 per cent used oral estradiol pills, and 94 per cent did not use hormone therapy.

The researchers found that the earlier someone experienced menopause, the more it affected cognition across all the areas tested. Transdermal estradiol users demonstrated better episodic memory compared to non-users, while oral estradiol users showed improved prospective memory. This suggests that estradiol’s delivery method impacts different aspects of cognition. Hormone therapy did not appear to affect executive function in either case, and all findings were consistent regardless of the number of children participants had or their genetic risk factors. Notably, estradiol therapy was never associated with poorer cognitive outcomes, reaffirming its potential positive value for women’s brain health in menopause.

Dr. Galea added: “There’s clearly a lot more we need to understand about how different estrogens can support the brain health of older women. To truly personalize care, we need a better sense of when, how, and for whom it is optimal to use these hormones to support memory. This will be a key area of future exploration.”

She also emphasized the lack of investment in women’s brain health research. “Only six to seven per cent of health research grants from Canada’s largest health granting agency address women’s health issues but most focus on pregnancy — with just 0.18 per cent across 15 years on menopause,” she said. “Women’s brain health remains understudied, underfunded, and overgeneralized. We urgently need more evidence to support women in midlife and beyond. That is why I am thrilled that, with new funding from Wellcome Leap, we are developing an Alzheimer’s disease prediction tool specifically for women, leveraging machine learning and big data.”

Over $7.7M in Ontario-Based Platforms to Advance Open Science and Brain Health Innovation

Two cutting-edge platforms at CAMH and Western University aim to accelerate AI-driven brain research and global data sharing.

Brain Canada is pleased to announce an investment of more than $7.7 million to support two innovative research platforms based in Ontario that will drive forward brain health discovery, data sharing, and open science collaboration.

Funded through the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), a visionary partnership between Brain Canada and the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, Dr. Tristan Glatard was awarded a $4.9M grant for "Building Reproducible AI Frameworks for Brain Health with the Brain Health Data Challenge (BHDC) Platform"

Read the full announcement here

CAMH asked, youth answered: a first-ever youth-led study for post-pandemic recovery in Canada

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian youth have reported a troubling decline in mental health. According to the latest Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), 38 per cent of students now rate their mental health as fair or poor—matching the record high first reported in 2021, with both figures recorded in the post-pandemic period. The numbers point to a growing crisis, but they don’t tell us what recovery should look like from the perspective of youth themselves.

A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) aims to shift the narrative by asking youth directly: what do you need to recover? Led by Dr. Jo Henderson, Senior Scientist, at CAMH’s Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health and Dr. Meaghen Quinlan-Davidson, the study's first author and Staff Scientist at the McCain Centre, and supported by the McCain Youth Engagement Initiative, this research invited 40 youth, between 12 to 25, from across the country to co-create solutions grounded in lived experience.

Read the full interview here

Introducing the North Star Initiative

At CAMH, we know the future of brain and mental health care depends on bold discovery. The North Star Initiative is our commitment to making Canada the global destination for brain and mental health research — and it starts right here with us.

By bringing together world-class scientists, partners across Toronto’s rich research ecosystem, and visionary

donors, we are accelerating breakthroughs in neuroscience, genomics, brain imaging, artificial intelligence, and more.

Learn more about this exciting new chapter for CAMH and how you can share the vision at https://www.camh.ca/northstar

Buzz-Worthy News

CAMH senior scientist Dr. Peter Selby joined CHCH TV to talk about the new CAMH-led Youth-VAST (Vaping, Alcohol, Substance Use, and Technology) Dependence Program, offering free, confidential support to youth in Ontario who are using substances excessively.

CAMH senior scientist Dr. Sean Kidd joined CBC's As It Happens to discuss an exciting update to A4i, a free app that supports people with complex behavioural and mental health conditions.

CAMH senior scientist Dr. Jürgen Rehm spoke with the Toronto Star about the significant health and economic implications of restricting sterile needle programs at HART Hubs.