Neurons that respond to specific characteristics of the visual stimulus are called:

Feature detectors are specialized neurons in the visual cortex that respond to specific attributes of visual stimuli, such as edges, shapes, angles, or movement. They play a crucial role in how we perceive the world by processing distinct features rather than the whole image at once. This capability allows the brain to break down complex visual information into manageable segments for further interpretation.

In contrast, photoreceptors, such as rods and cones, are responsible for converting light into electrical signals, but they do not process specific visual features. Ganglion cells transmit information from the retina to the brain but are involved in the initial stages of visual processing before the more complex feature detection occurs. Bipolar cells relay signals from photoreceptors to ganglion cells without distinguishing specific features of the visual scene. Therefore, feature detectors represent a higher level of processing that is integral to recognizing and interpreting what we see.