Complex cells

Complex cells can be found both in the primary visual cortex (V1) and the secondary visual cortex (V2).

Like a simple cell, a complex cell will respond primarily to oriented edges and gratings, however its receptive field cannot be mapped into fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones. Rather, it will respond to patterns of light in a certain orientation within a large receptive field, regardless of the exact location. Some complex cells respond optimally only to movement in a certain direction.

The difference between the receptive fields and the characteristics of simple and complex cells is the hierarchical convergent nature of visual processing. Complex cells receive inputs from a number of simple cells. Their receptive field is therefore a summation and integration of the receptive fields of many input simple cells. These cells were discovered by Torsten Wiesel and David Hubel in the 1950s.