Starting from random noise, we optimize an image to activate a particular neuron (layer mixed4a, unit 11).
And then we use that image as a kind of variable name to refer to the neuron in a way that more helpful than the the layer number and neuron index within the layer. This explanation is via one of Chris Olah's YouTube videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXsKyZ_Y_i8)