Barbara B. Bendlin, PhD

Position title: Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health

PhD, University of Arizona
Assistant Professor, School of Medicine

Contact Information

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
Clinical Science Center (J5/1M)-MC2420
600 Highland Ave
Madison, WI, 53792
608.265.2483
bbb@medicine.wisc.edu
Bendlin Laboratory

Research Statement

I am interested in understanding the interplay of factors that contribute to healthy or pathological brain aging. In particular, the effect of factors that contribute to or protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

My recently funded work focuses on brain structure and function in middle and late age, especially in people with increased risk of developing AD due to parental family history, genotype and vascular risk factors. Understanding early brain changes in people who may go on to develop AD is expected to lead to earlier diagnosis, prevention, and the development of new therapies for AD. My current projects use MRI as a tool to understand the effect of risk factors (parental family history, genotype, Metabolic Syndrome) on brain blood flow and structure. Additionally, I am funded to examine the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and brain structure to learn more about early mechanisms of brain damage in AD.

Selected Publications

Pubmed

DiFilippo, A., Jonaitis, E., Makuch, R., Gambetti, B., Fleming, V., Ennis, G., Barnhart, T., Engle, J., Bendlin, B., Johnson, S., Handen, B., Krinsky-McHale, S., Hartley, S., & Christian, B. (2024). Measurement of synaptic density in Down syndrome using PET imaging: a pilot study. Scientific reports, 14(1), 4676. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54669-7
Nair, A. K., Van Hulle, C. A., Bendlin, B. B., Zetterberg, H., Blennow, K., Wild, N., Kollmorgen, G., Suridjan, I., Busse, W. W., Dean, D. C., 3rd, & Rosenkranz, M. A. (2023). Impact of asthma on the brain: evidence from diffusion MRI, CSF biomarkers and cognitive decline. Brain communications, 5(3), fcad180. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcad180
Moody, J. F., Dean, D. C., 3rd, Kecskemeti, S. R., Blennow, K., Zetterberg, H., Kollmorgen, G., Suridjan, I., Wild, N., Carlsson, C. M., Johnson, S. C., Alexander, A. L., & Bendlin, B. B. (2022). Associations between diffusion MRI microstructure and cerebrospinal fluid markers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology and neurodegeneration along the Alzheimer’s disease continuum. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 14(1), e12381. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12381
Rosenkranz, M. A., Dean, D. C., 3rd, Bendlin, B. B., Jarjour, N. N., Esnault, S., Zetterberg, H., Heslegrave, A., Evans, M. D., Davidson, R. J., & Busse, W. W. (2022). Neuroimaging and biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration in asthma. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 149(2), 589–598.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2021.09.010
Vogt, N. M., Hunt, J., Adluru, N., Ma, Y., Van Hulle, C. A., Doug III, D., Kecskemeti, S. R., Chin, N. A., Carlsson, C. M., Asthana, S., Johnson, S. C., Kollmorgen, G., Batrla, R., Wild, N., Buck, K., Zetterberg, H., Alexander, A. L., Blennow, K., & Bendlin, B. B. (2022). Interaction of amyloid and tau on cortical microstructure in cognitively unimpaired adults. Alzheimer’s & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 18(1):65-76. doi: 10.1002/alz.12364.
Ennis, G. E., Kohli, A., Jonaitis, E. M., Betthauser, T. J., Oh, J. M., Taylor, C. E., Chin, N., Koscik, R. L., Christian, B. T., Asthana, S., Johnson, S. C., & Bendlin, B. B. (2021). The relationship of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion to cerebral glucose metabolism and cognition in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Neurobiology of aging, 105, 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.04.028
Vogt, N. M., Hunt, J., Ma, Y., Van Hulle, C. A., Adluru, N., Chappell, R. J., Lazar, K. K., Jacobson, L. E., Austin, B. P., Asthana, S., Johnson, S. C., Bendlin, B. B., & Carlsson, C. M. (2021). Effects of simvastatin on white matter integrity in healthy middle-aged adults. Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 8(8), 1656–1667. https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.51421
Ennis, G. E., Koscik, R. L., Ma, Y., Jonaitis, E. M., Van Hulle, C. A., Betthauser, T. J., Randall, A. M., Chin, N., Engelman, C. D., Anderson, R., Suridjan, I., Kollmorgen, G., Christian, B. T., Carlsson, C. M., Asthana, S., Johnson, S. C., Zetterberg, H., Blennow, K., & Bendlin, B. B. (2021). Insulin resistance is related to cognitive decline but not change in CSF biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in non-demented adults. Alzheimer’s & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 13(1), e12220. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12220
Vogt NM, Hunt JF, Adluru N, Dean DC, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Yu JJ, Alexander AL, Bendlin BB. (2020). Cortical Microstructural Alterations in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia. Cerebral Cortex, 30(5):2948-2960. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhz286.
Guerrero JM, Adluru N, Bendlin BB, Goldsmith HH, Schaefer SM, Davidson RJ, Kecskemeti SR, Zhang H, Alexander AL. (2019). Optimizing the intrinsic parallel diffusivity in NODDI: An extensive empirical evaluation. PLoS One. 14(9):e0217118. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217118.
Hwang SJ, Adluru N, Kim WH, Johnson SC, Bendlin BB, Singh V. (2019). Associations Between Positron Emission Tomography Amyloid Pathology and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Brain Connectivity in Pre-Clinical Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain Connections, 9(2):162-173. doi: 10.1089/brain.2018.0590.
Clark LR, Koscik RL, Allison SL, Berman SE, Norton D, Carlsson CM, Betthauser TJ, Bendlin BB, Christian BT, Chin NA, Asthana S, Johnson SC. (2019). Hypertension and obesity moderate the relationship between β-amyloid and cognitive decline in midlife. Alzheimers & Dementia, 15(3):418-428. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.09.008.
Pozorski V, Oh JM, Adluru N, Merluzzi AP, Theisen F, Okonkwo O, Barzgari A, Krislov S, Sojkova J, Bendlin BB, Johnson SC, Alexander AL, Gallagher CL. (2018). Longitudinal white matter microstructural change in Parkinson’s disease. Human Brain Mapping, 39(10):4150-4161. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24239.
Darst BF, Koscik RL, Racine AM, Oh JM, Krause RA, Carlsson CM, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Christian BT, Bendlin BB, Okonkwo OC, Hogan KJ, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Asthana S, Johnson SC, Engelman CD. (2017) Pathway-Specific Polygenic Risk Scores as Predictors of Amyloid-β Deposition and Cognitive Function in a Sample at Increased Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 55(2):473-484.
Dougherty RJ, Schultz SA, Kirby TK, Boots EA, Oh JM, Edwards D, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Sager MA, Hermann BP, Christian BT, Johnson SC, Cook DB, Okonkwo OC. (2017) Moderate Physical Activity is Associated with Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Adults at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 58(4):1089-1097.
Theisen F, Leda R, Pozorski V, Oh JM, Adluru N, Wong R, Okonkwo O, Dean DC 3rd, Bendlin BB, Johnson SC, Alexander AL, Gallagher CL. (2017). Evaluation of striatonigral connectivity using probabilistic tractography in Parkinson’s disease. Neuroimage Clinical, 9;16:557-563. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.09.009
Boots EA, Schultz SA, Clark LR, Racine AM, Darst BF, Koscik RL, Carlsson CM, Gallagher CL, Hogan KJ, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Sager MA, Hermann BP, Christian BT, Dubal DB, Engelman CD, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC. (2017) BDNF Val66Met predicts cognitive decline in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention. Neurology. 88(22):2098-2106.
Dean DC 3rd, Hurley SA, Kecskemeti SR, O’Grady JP, Canda C, Davenport-Sis NJ, Carlsson CM, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Asthana S, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Alexander AL, Bendlin BB. (2017) Association of Amyloid Pathology With Myelin Alteration in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease. JAMA Neurology, 74(1):41-49. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.3232.
Racine AM, Koscik RL, Nicholas CR, Clark LR, Okonkwo OC, Oh JM, Hillmer AT, Murali D, Barnhart TE, Betthauser TJ, Gallagher CL, Rowley HA, Dowling NM, Asthana S, Bendlin BB, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Carlsson CM, Christian BT, Johnson SC. (2016) Cerebrospinal fluid ratios with Aβ42 predict preclinical brain β-amyloid accumulation. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2:27-38.
Dean DC 3rd, Sojkova J, Hurley S, Kecskemeti S, Okonkwo O, Bendlin BB, Theisen F, Johnson SC, Alexander AL, Gallagher CL. (2016) Alterations of Myelin Content in Parkinson’s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Neuroimaging Study. PLoS One. 5;11(10):e0163774. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163774.
Merluzzi AP, Dean DC 3rd, Adluru N, Suryawanshi GS, Okonkwo OC, Oh JM, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Asthana S, Zhang H, Johnson SC, Alexander AL, Bendlin BB. (2016) Age-dependent differences in brain tissue microstructure assessed with neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging. Neurobiology of Aging. 43:79-88. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.03.026.
Schultz SA, Larson J, Oh J, Koscik R, Dowling MN, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Johnson SC, Sager M, LaRue A, Okonkwo OC. (2015) Participation in cognitively-stimulating activities is associated with brain structure and cognitive function in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 9(4):729-36. doi: 10.1007/s11682-014-9329-5.
Schultz SA, Boots EA, Almeida RP, Oh JM, Einerson J, Korcarz CE, Edwards DF, Koscik RL, Dowling MN, Gallagher CL, Bendlin BB, Christian BT, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Carlsson CM, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Stein JH, Okonkwo OC. (2015) Cardiorespiratory Fitness Attenuates the Influence of Amyloid on Cognition. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 21(10), 841–850. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617715000843
La C, Mossahebi P, Nair VA, Bendlin BB, Birn R, Meyerand ME, Prabhakaran V. (2015) Age-Related Changes in Inter-Network Connectivity by Component Analysis. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 7:237. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00237.
Berman SE, Rivera-Rivera LA, Clark LR, Racine AM, Keevil JG, Bratzke LC, Carlsson CM, Bendlin BB, Rowley HA, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Asthana S, Turski P, Johnson SC, Wieben O. (2015) Intracranial Arterial 4D-Flow is Associated with Metrics of Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimers and Dementia (Amst). 1;1(4):420-428..
Schultz SA, Oh JM, Koscik RL, Dowling NM, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Bendlin BB, LaRue A, Hermann BP, Rowley HA, Asthana S, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC. (2015) Subjective memory complaints, cortical thinning, and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged adults at risk for AD. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 1;1(1):33-40.
Kim WH, Adluru N, Chung MK, Okonkwo OC, Johnson SC, B Bendlin B, Singh V. (2015) Multi-resolution statistical analysis of brain connectivity graphs in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Neuroimage. 27;118:103-117. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.05.050.
Willette AA, Johnson SC, Birdsill AC, Sager MA, Christian B, Baker LD, Craft S, Oh J, Statz E, Hermann BP, Jonaitis EM, Koscik RL, La Rue A, Asthana S, Bendlin BB. (2015) Insulin resistance predicts brain amyloid deposition in late middle-aged adults. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 11(5):504-510.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.03.011.
Sprecher KE, Bendlin BB, Racine AM, Okonkwo OC, Christian BT, Koscik RL, Sager MA, Asthana S, Johnson SC, Benca RM. (2015) Amyloid burden is associated with self-reported sleep in nondemented late middle-aged adults. Neurobiol Aging. 36(9):2568-76. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2015.05.004.
Willette AA, Bendlin BB, Starks EJ, Birdsill AC, Johnson SC, Christian BT, Okonkwo OC, La Rue A, Hermann BP, Koscik RL, Jonaitis EM, Sager MA, Asthana S. (2015) Association of Insulin Resistance With Cerebral Glucose Uptake in Late Middle-Aged Adults at Risk for Alzheimer Disease.. JAMA Neurology. 72(9):1013-20. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.0613.
Boots EA, Schultz SA, Oh JM, Larson J, Edwards D, Cook D, Koscik RL, Dowling MN, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Bendlin BB, LaRue A, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC. (2015) Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with brain structure, cognition, and mood in a middle-aged cohort at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 9(3):639-49. doi: 10.1007/s11682-014-9325-9.
Almeida RP, Schultz SA, Austin BP, Boots EA, Dowling NM, Gleason CE, Bendlin BB, Sager MA, Hermann BP, Zetterberg H, Carlsson CM, Johnson SC, Asthana S, Okonkwo OC. (2015) Effect of Cognitive Reserve on Age-Related Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease. JAMA Neurology, 72(6):699-706. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.0098.
Peng Y, Li M, Clarkson BD, Pehar M, Lao PJ, Hillmer AT, Barnhart TE, Christian BT, Mitchell HA, Bendlin BB, Sandor M, Puglielli L. (2014) Deficient import of acetyl-CoA into the ER lumen causes neurodegeneration and propensity to infections, inflammation, and cancer. Journal of Neuroscience. 14;34(20):6772-89. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0077-14.2014.
Johnson SC, Christian BT, Okonkwo OC, Oh JM, Harding S, Xu G, Hillmer AT, Wooten DW, Murali D, Barnhart TE, Hall LT, Racine AM, Klunk WE, Mathis CA, Bendlin BB, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Hermann BP, Dowling NM, Asthana S, Sager MA. (2014) Amyloid burden and neural function in people at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurobiology of Aging. 35(3):576-84.
Okonkwo OC, Oh JM, Koscik R, Jonaitis E, Cleary CA, Dowling NM, Bendlin BB, Larue A, Hermann BP, Barnhart TE, Murali D, Rowley HA, Carlsson CM, Gallagher CL, Asthana S, Sager MA, Christian BT, Johnson SC. (2014) Amyloid burden, neuronal function, and cognitive decline in middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 20(4):422-33.
Okonkwo OC, Schultz SA, Oh JM, Larson J, Edwards D, Cook D, Koscik R, Gallagher CL, Dowling NM, Carlsson CM, Bendlin BB, LaRue A, Rowley HA, Christian BT, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Johnson SC, Sager MA. (2014) Physical activity attenuates age-related biomarker alterations in preclinical AD. Neurology. 4;83(19):1753-60. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000964.
Li CT, Palotti M, Holden JE, Oh J, Okonkwo O, Christian BT, Bendlin BB, Buyan-Dent L, Harding SJ, Stone CK, DeJesus OT, Nickles RJ, Gallagher CL. (2014) A dual-tracer study of extrastriatal 6-[18F]fluoro-m-tyrosine and 6-[18F]-fluoro-L-dopa uptake in Parkinson’s disease. Synapse. 68(8):325-31.
Willette AA, Coe CL, Birdsill AC, Bendlin BB, Colman RJ, Alexander AL, Allison DB, Weindruch RH, Johnson SC. (2013) Interleukin-8 and interleukin-10, brain volume and microstructure, and the influence of calorie restriction in old rhesus macaques. Age. Mar 6.
Willette AA, Xu G, Johnson SC, Birdsill AC, Jonaitis EM, Sager MA, Hermann BP, La Rue A, Asthana S, Bendlin BB. (2013) Insulin resistance, brain atrophy, and cognitive performance in late middle-aged adults. Diabetes Care. Feb;36(2):443-9.
Sridharan A, Pehar M, Salamat MS, Pugh TD, Bendlin BB, Willette AA, Anderson RM, Kemnitz JW, Colman RJ, Weindruch RH, Puglielli L, Johnson SC. (2013) Calorie restriction attenuates astrogliosis but not amyloid plaque load in aged rhesus macaques: a preliminary quantitative imaging study. Brain Research. May 1;1508:1-8.
Gallagher C, Bell B, Bendlin B, Palotti M, Okonkwo O, Sodhi A, Wong R, Buyan-Dent L, Johnson S, Wilette A, Harding S, Ninman N, Kastman E, Alexander A. (2013) White Matter Microstructural Integrity and Executive Function in Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 19(3):349-54.
Ries ML, McLaren DG, Bendlin BB, Guofanxu, Rowley HA, Birn R, Kastman EK, Sager MA, Asthana S, Johnson SC. (2012) Medial prefrontal functional connectivity-Relation to memory self-appraisal accuracy in older adults with and without memory disorders. Neuropsychologia. Apr;50(5):603-11.
Okonkwo OC, Xu G, Oh JM, Dowling NM, Carlsson CM, Gallagher CL, Birdsill AC, Palotti M, Wharton W, Hermann BP, Larue A, Bendlin BB, Rowley HA, Asthana S, Sager MA, Johnson SC. (2012) Cerebral Blood Flow is Diminished in Asymptomatic Middle-Aged Adults with Maternal History of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cerebral Cortex. Dec 12.
Birdsill AC, Carlsson CM, Willette AA, Okonkwo OC, Johnson SC, Xu G, Oh JM, Gallagher CL, Koscik RL, Jonaitis EM, Hermann BP, Larue A, Rowley HA, Asthana S, Sager MA, Bendlin BB. (2012) Low cerebral blood flow is associated with lower memory function in metabolic syndrome. Obesity. Nov 30.
Willette AA, Coe CL, Colman RJ, Bendlin BB, Kastman EK, Field AS, Alexander AL, Allison DB, Weindruch RH, Johnson SC. (2011) Calorie restriction reduces psychological stress reactivity and its association with brain volume and microstructure in aged rhesus monkeys. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 Nov 24. [Epub ahead of print].
Johnson SC, La Rue A, Hermann BP, Xu G, Koscik RL, Jonaitis EM, Bendlin BB, Hogan KJ, Roses AD, Saunders AM, Lutz MW, Asthana S, Green RC, Sager MA. (2011) The effect of TOMM40 poly-T length on gray matter volume and cognition in middle-aged persons with APOE ε3/ε3 genotype. Alzheimers & Dementia. Jul;7(4):456-65.