Morsier, Georges de

Georges de Morsier (25 February 1894, Paris – 9 January 1982, Geneva) was a Swiss neurologist. He studied natural sciences and medicine in Geneva and subsequently went to Paris as a resident to psychiatrist Gaétan de Clérambault. In 1928 he became Privatdozent for neurology and psychiatry and in 1941 associate professor at Geneva University, where in 1960, he was appointed professor of neurology. From 1962 onward, he was director of the neurological polyclinic of Geneva University Hospital (HUG). From 1946 to 1949 he was also president of the Swiss Neurological Society. Known for his research of visual hallucinations, he is credited with coining the terms "Charles Bonnet syndrome" (named after Swiss biologist Charles Bonnet) and "Zingerle syndrome" (named after Austrian neurologist Hermann Zingerle) for specific hallucinatory conditions. He also honored his mentor, Gaétan de Clérambault, with a syndrome — it being defined as a hallucinatory state characterized by auditory and visual hallucinations associated with chronic psychosis. The condition was earlier described by Clérambault in the context with his research on mental automatisms. The eponym "De Morsier's syndrome" is a synonym for septo-optic dysplasia.