• Background
  • Instructions
  • Illustration
  • Quiz

Background

Complex cells are also neurons in V1 that respond optimally to a stimulus with a particular orientation. But, unlike simple cells, they respond to a variety of stimuli across different locations. For example, a complex cell will respond to a dark bar on a light background and a light bar on a dark background. In contrast, a simple cell only responds to one but not the other. Moreover, complex cells do not have peak location sensitivity as simple cells do. That is, they will respond equally well to an optimal orientation regardless of where it is within the cell’s receptive field. Complex cells also respond best to moving stimuli.

In this activity, you can simulate recording from a complex cell. You can try to use a dot to map the receptive field and bars to try to determine the optimal stimulus.