This research investigates the circuit mechanisms underlying contextual modulation in the visual cortex — specifically, how somatostatin (SST) interneurons sculpt neural representations by selectively suppressing responses to non-preferred stimuli. Using a custom-built bidirectional two-photon holographic optogenetics system, I can selectively activate or silence individual SST neurons with single-cell precision in awake mice to causally test whether their stimulus-specific inhibition is both necessary and sufficient for enhancing the perception of a visual stimulus in the visual cortex. Beyond addressing a fundamental gap in our understanding of inhibitory circuit computation, this work has broad clinical relevance, as SST dysfunction is implicated in a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders characterized by impaired sensory processing.