Mathematical modelling of reaction latency: the structure of the models and its motivation.

The basic structural assumptions concerning the dynamic models of the reaction latency are presented. The linear dynamic stochastic model of the reaction latency is considered as a special case of dynamic model. The biological motivation for using these models are outlined. These models express the reaction latency as a first access time of the random threshold of a certain stochastic process. This approach was used in modelling the reaction latency in escape and avoidance experiments (the results will be presented in subsequent papers).