APA Dictionary of Psychology

the spatially discrete region and the features associated with it that can be stimulated to cause the maximal response of a sensory cell. In vision, for example, the receptive field of a retinal ganglion cell is the area on the retina (containing a particular number of photoreceptors) that evokes a neural response. An auditory neuron has a receptive field that can be described either by the range of tones to which it responds or by the receptors that cause this response. Also called receptor field.