Feature detection
The notion of feature detection is used with somewhat different but nevertheless related meanings in different areas that deal with automated interpretation of sensory or measurement data.
In the area of computer vision, feature detection usually refers to the computation of local image features as intermediate results of making local decisions about the local information contents (image structure) in the image; see also the article on interest point detection.
In the area of psychology, the feature detectors are neurons in the visual cortex that receive visual information and respond to certain features such as lines, angles, movements, etc. When the visual information changes, the feature detector neurons will quiet down, to be replaced with other more responsive neurons.