headshot of Sergios Charntikov

Sergios Charntikov

Associate Professor
Phone: (603) 862-5490
Office: Psychology, McConnell Hall, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:

Dr. Sergios (Sergey) Charntikov is an Assistant Professor of Psychology. He joined the UNH faculty in 2015 after completing his Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Charntikov teaches undergraduate level classes related to behavioral neuroscience and addiction. His research program focuses on applying a multidisciplinary approach to study behavior and neurobiology associated with substance use disorder. This approach encompasses a) investigation of short- and long-term effects of drugs of abuse, b) investigation and development of treatment relevant strategies, and c) improvement of existing and development of novel relapse prevention strategies. One arm of this research is focusing on understanding individual differences in substance use and in response to treatment. For example, Dr. Charntikov is interested in how individual vulnerability to stress contributes to traumatic stress and heroin use comorbidity or how individual history with nicotine or alcohol relates to various treatment outcomes. The other arm of the research in Dr. Charntikov lab focuses on the understanding of neural mechanisms underlying learning with drugs of abuse. We believe that investigating neural substrates underlying learning mechanisms with pharmacological stimuli is of great importance if the goal is to develop more effective treatment strategies. To achieve these goals, we are using a translationally relevant preclinical drug self-administration model that allows us to model relevant behavioral and neural mechanisms. We also rely on behavioral economics and advanced analytical approaches to assess individual effects and relate them to other markers of interest. Finally, our long-term goal is to able to determine the most suitable individualized treatment options for substance use disorder depending on the previous history of substance use and other behavioral or biological markers.

Courses Taught

  • BMS 799H: Senior Honors Thesis
  • INCO 590: Student Research Experience
  • NSB 799H: Honors Senior Thesis
  • PSYC 502: Research Methods in Psychology
  • PSYC 741W: SpcTop/Fund of Substance Abuse
  • PSYC 894: Advanced Research
  • PSYC 933: Adv Sem/Physiological Psych
  • PSYC 991: Pract&Sem/Teaching Psychology
  • PSYC 999: Doctoral Research

Education

  • Ph.D., Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Nebraska
  • M.A., General Experimental Psychology, California State University
  • B.A., Psychology, California State University

Research Interests

  • Behavioral neuroscience
  • Drug addiction
  • Heroin
  • Learning with drug states
  • Methamphetamine
  • Nicotine
  • Pharmacology

Selected Publications

  • Robison, C. L., Kazan, T., Miller, R. L. A., Allen, T., Hensley, J. S., & Charntikov, S. (2025). Topographical Organization of Prefrontal Cortex and Adjacent Areas Projections to the Dorsomedial Caudate–Putamen in Rats: A Retrograde Tracing Study. Brain Sciences, 15(4), 398. doi:10.3390/brainsci15040398

  • Robison, C. L., Madore, V., Cova, N., Karbalivand, M., Elsawa, S. F., & Charntikov, S. (2025). Differential Gene Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus Following Long-Access Methamphetamine Self-Administration in Male Rats.. Int J Mol Sci, 26(4). doi:10.3390/ijms26041400

  • Suarez, M., Charntikov, S., Huynh, Y. W., Barrett, S. T., Bevins, R. A., & Wakabayashi, K. T. (2024). "A robust and simple catheter connector assembly for long-term self-administration experiments".. MethodsX, 12, 102675. doi:10.1016/j.mex.2024.102675

  • Robison, C. L., Madore, V., Cova, N., Drugan, R. C., & Charntikov, S. (2024). Individual corticosterone response to intermittent swim stress predicts a shift in economic demand for ethanol from pre- stress to post-stress in male rats.. bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2024.02.26.582066

  • Robison, C. L., Cova, N., Madore, V., Allen, T., Barrett, S., & Charntikov, S. (2023). Assessment of ethanol and nicotine interactions using a reinforcer demand modeling with grouped and individual levels of analyses in a long-access self-administration model using male rats.. Front Behav Neurosci, 17, 1291128. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1291128

  • Charntikov, S., Pittenger, S. T., Thapa, I., Bastola, D. R., Bevins, R. A., & Pendyala, G. (2015). Ibudilast reverses the decrease in the synaptic signaling protein phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 (PEBP1) produced by chronic methamphetamine intake in rats. DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE, 152, 15-23. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.04.012

  • Chamtikov, S., Swalve, N., Pittenger, S., Fink, K., Schepers, S., Hadlock, G. C., . . . Bevins, R. A. (2013). Iptakalim attenuates self-administration and acquired goal-tracking behavior controlled by nicotine. NEUROPHARMACOLOGY, 75, 138-144. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.07.019

  • Bevins, R. A., Barrett, S. T., Polewan, R. J., Pittenger, S. T., Swalve, N., & Charntikov, S. (2012). Disentangling the nature of the nicotine stimulus. BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES, 90(1), 28-33. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2011.10.020

  • Iniguez, S. D., Charntikov, S., Baella, S. A., Herbert, M. S., Bolanos-Guzman, C. A., & Crawford, C. A. (2012). Post-training cocaine exposure facilitates spatial memory consolidation in C57BL/6 mice. HIPPOCAMPUS, 22(4), 802-813. doi:10.1002/hipo.20941

  • Charntikov, S., Der-Ghazarian, T., Herbert, M. S., Horn, L. R., Widarma, C. B., Gutierrez, A., . . . McDougall, S. A. (2011). IMPORTANCE OF D1 AND D2 RECEPTORS IN THE DORSAL CAUDATE-PUTAMEN FOR THE LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY AND STEREOTYPED BEHAVIORS OF PREWEANLING RATS. NEUROSCIENCE, 183, 121-133. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.03.037

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