Final answer:
The effect of the social context of eye gaze on the activation of the posterior superior temporal sulcus involves increased brain activity related to social cognition and recognition. During a task involving face recognition, fMRI imaging would likely reveal increased blood flow and activity in this area and related cognitive regions. This reflects the integrated work of sensory processing, motor responses, and social cognitive functions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question pertains to the effect of social context of eye gaze on the activation of the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) within the brain. This region plays a critical role in the perception of where others are gazing (social eye gaze) and helps in understanding the intentions and focus of other individuals. When an individual performs a visual task involving recognition, such as in the experimental setup described, various regions of the brain, including the pSTS, become active.
Regions of the brain such as the visual cortex and motor areas related to eye movement and button pressing would show increased blood flow and energy utilization, as detected by an fMRI. Specifically, the recognition of familiar faces (e.g., celebrities) as opposed to unfamiliar ones may yield different patterns of brain activation, with potentially increased activity in the pSTS when recognizing socially relevant stimuli.
Furthermore, this kind of experiment, involving the recognition of faces from eye gaze, taps into the complex interaction between the sensory areas, motor activities, and cognitive functions such as memory and social cognition, each requiring adequate blood flow and thus being measurable using blood flow-based imaging techniques like fMRI or PET scans.