What term is used to describe nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of stimulus such as shape or movement?

The term "feature detectors" specifically refers to specialized neurons in the brain that are tuned to respond to particular aspects of visual stimuli, such as orientation, movement, and shape. These neurons enable the visual processing system to interpret complex scenes by analyzing simple features. They work by firing in response to specific stimulus characteristics, allowing organisms to detect and recognize objects within their environment.

Cones and rods, while related to visual perception, refer to types of photoreceptor cells in the retina that respond to light and are responsible for color vision and night vision, respectively. The term neurons is much broader, encompassing all types of nerve cells, including motor, sensory, and interneurons, and does not specifically capture the feature-selective processing involved in visual recognition tasks. Therefore, feature detectors are the precise term that describes the nerve cells in the brain that respond selectively to specific visual features.