A review of behavioral methods for the evaluation of cognitive performance in animal models: Current techniques and links to human cognition

•Various behavioral tests such as Y-maze test, Morris water maze test, open field habituation test and gait functions test used for evaluation of spatial memory in rodents.•Various behavioral test such 8-arms radial maze test, radial arm water maze, novel object recognition test used for evaluation of reference/ working memory in rodents.•Various behavioral test such as, passive avoidance test and active avoidance test used for evaluation of conceptual or connecting memory in rodents.•Each of these tests has their strengths and limits.•Abnormal results obtained using these tasks in non-human animals indicate malfunctions in memory.