Random pulse input versus continuous current plus white noise: Are they equivalent?

We compared the behavior of the Hodgkin}Huxley (HH) model subjected to two input regimes: "rstly, discrete pulses from a Poisson process, and then to a di!usion approximation, constructed to share statistical properties with the discrete pulse input. The results show that under a wide range of physiologically plausible input conditions the di!usion process is equivalent to the pulse process, in terms of output interspike interval distribution. In this respect, the HH model di!ers from the integrate and "re model, which has been widely used to address a variety of questions in computational neuroscience. ( 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.