A theoretical connection between the noisy leaky integrate-and-fire and escape rate models: the non-autonomous case

Abstract: One of the most important challenges in mathematical neuroscience is to properly illustrate the stochastic nature of neurons. Among different approaches, the noisy leaky integrate-and-fire and the escape rate models are probably the most popular. These two models are usually chosen to express different noise action over the neural cell. In this paper we investigate the link between the two formalisms in the case of a neuron subject to a time dependent input. To this aim, we introduce a new general stochastic framework. As we shall prove, our general framework entails the two already existing ones. Our result has theoretical implications since it offers a general view upon the two stochastic processes mostly used in neuroscience, upon the way they can be linked, and explain their observed statistical similarity.