Many factors influence our perception of local features. What we see is not strictly a reflection of the physical characteristics of a scene, but instead is highly dependent on the processes by which our brain attempts to interpret the scene. As a result, our percepts are shaped by the context within which local features are presented, by our previous visual experiences (operating over a wide range of time scales), and by our expectations of what is likely to be before us. The substrate for these influences is found in the lateral interactions operating within individual areas of the cerebral cortex and in the feedback from higher to lower order cortical areas.