Read Montague is interested in the human dopamine system -- or, as he puts it in this illuminating talk from TEDGlobal 2012, that which makes us "chase sex, food and salt" and therefore survive.
Specifically, Montague and his team at the Roanoke Brain Study are interested in how dopamine and valuation systems work when two human beings interact with each other.
Here is a blog post about 12 TED talks on understanding the brain. This blog is not necessarily related to brain function and the link between learning, but incredibly interesting.
