Laurence Bayer

Short Biography

Laurence Bayer earned her PhD in Life and Health Sciences from the University of Besançon in 2000. She became a senior lecturer at the University of Geneva and joined the CNRS in Paris as a CR1 researcher in 2007. Since 2013, she worked as a Biologist at the CMS of Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). In 2021, she obtained her Privat-docent from the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Medicine.

She initially developed expertise in fundamental neuroscience using animal models, later expanding her work to clinical studies in humans. After conducting research on the neurons involved in states of vigilance and food intake, she specialized in the mechanisms underlying the sleep-wake cycle. For the past 15 years, she has explored the effects of rocking stimulation on sleep and its therapeutic potential. She collaborates locally and internationally, and since 2023, contribute to a project combining cognitive therapy and olfactory stimulation to improve sleep in individuals with insomnia.

Key Publications

• Perogamvros, L., Rochas, V., Beau, JB., Sterpenich, V., Bayer, L. (2025) The cathartic dream: Using a large language model to study a new type of functional dream in healthy and clinical populations. Journal of sleep research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.70001.
• Perrault, A., Khani, A., Quairiaux, C., Kompotis, K., Franken, P., Muhlethaler, M., Schwartz, S., Bayer, L. (2019). Whole-Night Continuous Rocking Entrains Spontaneous Neural Oscillations with Benefits for Sleep and Memory. Current Biology.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.028.
• Kompotis, K., Hubbard, J., Emmenegger, Y., Perrault, A., Muhlethaler, M., Schwartz, S., Bayer, L., Franken, P. (2019). Rocking Promotes Sleep in Mice through Rhythmic Stimulation of the Vestibular System. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.12.007.

Media

• https://avisdexperts.ch/fr/user/16297

Contact

Mail: laurence.bayer@unige.ch
Tel: +41 22 379 54 55
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5374-3316