Staff profile

Grant Reviewer

ESRC; MRC; NWO; NSF; National Science Center Poland

Journal Reviewer

Experimental Brain Research •Journal of Motor Behavior • Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance • Consciousness and Cognition • Neuron •Journal of Neuroscience Methods • Human Brain Mapping • Cognition • Journal of the Royal Society ‘Interface’ • Proceedings of the Royal Society (Series B) • Visual Cognition • Frontiers in Integrative Physiology • PLoS One • Current Biology •Journal of Neurophysiology • Behavioral Brain Research • Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science • European Journal of Neuroscience • Current Directions in Psychological Science • Acta Psychologica • Frontiers in Cognitive Science • IEE TBME

• human echolocation, visual perception, auditory perception, blindness, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

• Cognitive Neuroscience

• Lore Thaler's Personal Webpage

• 2016: Grant : ESRC (PI: M Nardini; Co-I: LT) (2016-2019) ‘Using Echolocation To Study The Development Of Cue Combination’ (£450k)
• 2014: Grant: British Council GII (2014-2016) ‘Seeing with Sound:Developing an Echolocation Device based on sensing principles derived from Human Users’ (total: £147,064; sub-award LT: £35,800)
• 2014: Grant: BBSRC (2015-2018) ‘Human echolocation: Basic mechanisms and neuroplasticity’ (£409,942)
• 2010: Grant: Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008-2010), Project: Investigation of Neural Correlates of Visual-Spatial Representations (50,000 CA $)

Available for media contact about:

• Biological and Biomedical Sciences:
• Neuroscience:
• Health & Welfare:
• Disability issues:
• Human biology and development:
• Medical and health research topics:
• Psychology:
• Memory and brain function:
• Perception / attractiveness:
• Vision / eye movement:

Chapter in book

• Norman, L. & Thaler, L. (2017). Human Echolocation - Spatial Resolution and Signal Properties. In Biologically-Inspired Radar and Sonar: Lessons from Nature. Balleri, A., Griffiths, H. & Baker, C. IET - The Institution of Engineering and Technology. 209-227.
• Schlicht, Tobias, Vetter, Petra, Thaler, Lore & Moss, Cynthia (2013). Wahrnehmung. In Handbuch Kognitionswissenschaft. Stephan, Achim & Walter, Sven Stuttgart: Verlag J.B. Metzler. 472-487.

Journal Article

• Negen, J, Bird, L, Slater, H, Thaler, L & Nardini, M (2023). Multisensory perception and decision-making with a new sensory skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 49(5): 600-622.
• Thaler, Lore, Di Gregorio, Giammarco & Foresteire, Denise (2023). 6-hour Training in click-based echolocation changes practice in visual impairment professionals. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences 4.
• Norman, Liam J. & Thaler, Lore (2023). The occipital place area is recruited for echo-acoustically guided navigation in blind human echolocators. Journal of Neuroscience
• Thaler, Lore, Norman, L. J., De Vos, H. P. J. C., Kish, D., Antoniou, M., Baker, C. J. & Hornikx, M. C. J. (2022). Human Echolocators Have Better Localization Off Axis. Psychological Science 33(7): 1143-1153.
• Thaler, Lore (2022). Echolocation in people: Humans can learn how to use echolocation, aiding the mobility, independence and wellbeing for people who are partially sighted or blind. Physiology News 126(Summer 2022): 20-23.
• Thaler, Lore & Norman, Liam J. (2021). No effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind. Experimental Brain Research 239(12): 3625-3633.
• Norman, Liam J., Dodsworth, Caitlin, Foresteire, Denise & Thaler, Lore (2021). Human click-based echolocation: Effects of blindness and age, and real-life implications in a 10-week training program. PLOS ONE 16(6): e0252330.
• Castillo-Serrano, J. G., Norman, L. J., Foresteire, D. & Thaler, L. (2021). Increased emission intensity can compensate for the presence of noise in human click-based echolocation. Scientific Reports 11(1): 1750.
• Norman, Liam J. & Thaler, Lore (2021). Perceptual constancy with a novel sensory skill. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 47(2): 269-281.
• Norman, Liam J. & Thaler, Lore (2020). Stimulus uncertainty affects perception in human echolocation: Timing, level, and spectrum. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 149(12): 2314-2331.
• Dodsworth, C, Norman, LJ & Thaler, L (2020). Navigation and Perception of Spatial Layout in Virtual Echo-Acoustic Space. Cognition 197: 104185.
• Thaler, L., Zhang, X., Antoniou, M., Kish, D. & Cowie, D. (2020). The flexible Action System: Click-based Echolocation may replace certain visual Functionality for adaptive Walking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 46(1): 21-35.
• Norman, LJ & Thaler, L (2019). Retinotopic-like maps of spatial sound in primary 'visual' cortex of blind human echolocators. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 286(1912): 20191910.
• Negen, James, Chere, Brittney Bird, Laura, Taylor, Ellen, Roome, Hannah, Keenaghan, Samantha, Thaler, Lore & Nardini, Marko (2019). Sensory Cue Combination in Children Under 10 Years of Age. Cognition 193: 104014.
• Thaler, L., De Vos, H.P.J.C., Kish, D., Antoniou, M., Baker, C.J. & Hornikx, M.C.J. (2019). Human Click-Based Echolocation of Distance: Superfine Acuity and Dynamic Clicking Behaviour. Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology 20(5): 499-510.
• Arcaro, Michael J., Thaler, Lore, Quinlan, Derek J., Monaco, Simona, Khan, Sarah, Valyear, Kenneth F., Goebel, Rainer, Dutton, Gordon N., Goodale, Melvyn A., Kastner, Sabine & Culham, Jody C. (2019). Psychophysical and neuroimaging responses to moving stimuli in a patient with the Riddoch phenomenon due to bilateral visual cortex lesions. Neuropsychologia 128: 150-165.
• Norman, L.J. & Thaler, L. (2019). Sensory Expectations in Human echolocation: Timing, Intensity and Spectrum. Journal of experimental Psychology: General
• Negen, James, Wen, Lisa, Thaler, Lore & Nardini, Marko (2018). Bayes-Like Integration of a New Sensory Skill with Vision. Scientific Reports 8: 16880.
• Norman, L. & Thaler, L. (2018). Human echolocation for target detection is more accurate with emissions containing higher spectral frequencies, and this is explained by echo intensity. i-Perception 9(3): 1-18.
• Yu, X.L., Thaler, L., Baker, C.J., Smith, G.E. & Zhao, L.S. (2018). Human echolocation: 2D shape discrimination using features extracted from acoustic echoes. Electronics Letters 54(12): 785-787.
• Thaler, Lore, De Vos, Henrikus, Kish, Daniel, Antoniou, Michail, Baker, Chris & Hornikx, Maarten (2018). Human Echolocators adjust loudness and number of clicks for detection of reflectors at various azimuth angles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285(1873): 20172735.
• Thaler, L. & Foresteire, D. (2017). Visual sensory stimulation interferes with people’s ability to echolocate object size. Scientific Reports 7: 13069.
• Thaler, Lore, Reich, Galen M., Zhang, Xinyu, Wang, Dinghe, Smith, Graeme E., Tao, Zeng, Abdullah, Raja Syamsul Azmir Bin. Raja Cherniakov, Mikhail, Baker, Christopher J., Kish, Daniel & Antoniou, Michail (2017). Mouth-Clicks used by Blind Expert Human Echolocators – Signal Description and Model Based Signal Synthesis. PLoS Computational Biology 13(8): e1005670.
• Zhang, X., Reich, G., Antoniou, M., Cherniakov, M., Baker, C.J., Thaler, L., Kish, D. & Smith, G.E. (2017). Human echolocation: Waveform Analysis of Tongue Clicks. Electronics Letters 53(9): 580-582.
• Thaler, L. & Goodale, M.A. (2016). Echolocation in humans: an overview. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science 7(6): 382-393.
• Thaler, Lore & Castillo-Serrano, Josefina (2016). People's ability to detect objects using click-based echolocation: A direct comparison between mouth-clicks and clicks made by a loudspeaker. PLOS ONE 11(5): e0154868.
• Thaler, L., Paciocco, J., Daley, M., Lesniak, G. D., Purcell, D. W., Fraser, J. A., Dutton G. N., Rossit, S., Goodale, M. A. & Culham, J. C. (2016). A selective impairment of perception of sound motion direction in peripheral space: A case study. Neuropsychologia 8: 79-89.
• Fiehler, K., Schütz, I., Meller, T. & Thaler, L. (2015). Neural Correlates of Human Echolocation of Path Direction During Walking. Multisensory Research 28(1-2): 195-226.
• Milne, J. L., Anello, M., Goodale, M. A. & Thaler, L. (2015). A blind human expert echolocator shows size constancy for objects perceived by echoes. Neurocase: The Neural Basis of Cognition 21(4): 465-470.
• Milne, J.L., Arnott, S.R., Kish, D., Goodale, M.A. & Thaler, L. (2015). Parahippocampal cortex is involved in material processing via echoes in blind echolocation experts. Vision research 109(Part B): 139-148.
• Thaler, Lore (2015). Using Sound to Get Around - Discoveries in Human Echolocation. Observer 28(10).
• Thaler, Lore, Wilson, Rosanna C. & Gee, Bethany K. (2014). Correlation between vividness of visual imagery and echolocation ability in sighted, echo-naïve people. Experimental Brain Research 232(6): 1915-1925.
• Thaler, Lore, Milne,Jennifer Arnott,Stephen Kish,Daniel & Goodale, Melvyn (2014). Neural Correlates of Motion Processing through Echolocation, Source Hearing and Vision in Blind Echolocation Experts and Sighted Echolocation Novices. Journal of Neurophysiology 111(1): 112-127.
• Milne, J. L., Goodale, M. A. & Thaler, L. (2014). The role of head movements in the discrimination of 2-D shape by blind echolocation experts. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 76(6): 1828-1837.
• Thaler, L. (2013). Echolocation may have real-life advantages for blind people: an analysis of survey data. Frontiers in Physiology 4: 98.
• Thaler, Lore, Schütz, Alexander C., Goodale, Melvyn A. & Gegenfurtner, Karl R. (2013). What is the best fixation target? The effect of target shape on stability of fixational eye movements. Vision Research 76: 31-42.
• Arnott, S.R., Thaler, L., Milne, J., Kish, D. & Goodale, M.A. (2013). Shape-specific activation of occipital cortex in an early blind echolocation expert. Neuropsychologia 51(5): 938-949.
• Thaler, Lore, Arnott, Stephen & Goodale, Melvyn (2011). Neural correlates of natural human echolocation in early and late blind echolocation experts. PLoS ONE 6(5): e20162.
• Thaler, Lore & Goodale, Melvyn (2011). Neural substrates of visual spatial coding and visual feedback control for hand movements in allocentric and target-directed tasks. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 5: 92.
• Gordon, G., Kaplan, D.M., Lankow, B., Little, D.Y., Sherwin, J., Suter, B.A. & Thaler, L. (2011). Toward an integrated approach to perception and action: conference report and future directions. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 5: 20.
• Thaler, Lore & Goodale, Melvyn (2011). Reaction times for allocentric movements are 35 ms slower than reaction times for target-directed movements. Experimental Brain Research 211(2): 313.
• Thaler, Lore & Goodale, Melvyn (2011). The role of online visual feedback for the control of target-directed and allocentric hand movements. Journal of Neurophysiology 105(2): 846-859.
• Thaler, Lore & Goodale, Melvyn (2010). Beyond distance and direction: the brain represents target locations non-metrically. Journal of Vision 10(3): 3.
• Todd, James & Thaler, Lore (2010). The perception of 3D shape from texture based on directional width gradients. Journal of Vision 10(5): 17.
• Thaler, Lore & Todd, James (2010). Evidence from visuomotor adaptation for two partially independent visuomotor systems. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 36(4): 924-935.
• Thaler, Lore & Todd, James (2009). The control parameters used by the CNS to guide the hand depend on the visuo-motor task: evidence from visually guided pointing. Neuroscience 159(2): 578-598.
• Thaler, Lore & Todd, James (2009). The use of head/eye-centered, hand-centered and allocentric representations for visually guided hand movements and perceptual judgments. Neuropsychologia 47(5): 1227-1244.
• Todd, JT, Thaler, L, Dijkstra, TM, Koenderink, JJ & Kappers, AM (2007). The effects of viewing angle, camera angle, and sign of surface curvature on the perception of three-dimensional shape from texture. Journal of Vision 7(12): 9.
• Thaler, L, Todd, JT, Spering, M & Gegenfurtner, KR (2007). Illusory bending of a rigidly moving line segment: effects of image motion and smooth pursuit eye movements. Journal of Vision 7(6): 9.
• Thaler, L., Todd, J.T. & Dijkstra, T.M. (2007). The effects of phase on the perception of 3D shape from texture: psychophysics and modeling. Vision Research 47(3): 411-427.
• Todd, JT, Thaler, L & Dijkstra, TM (2005). The effects of field of view on the perception of 3D slant from texture. Vision Research 45(12): 1501-1517.