Cold-Sensitive Corneal Afferents Respond to a Variety of Ocular Stimuli Central to Tear Production: Implications for Dry Eye Disease

These results demonstrate that innocuous "cold" cornea thermoreceptors are activated by drying of the ocular surface and hyperosmotic solutions, conditions that are consistent with a role in tear production. The authors hypothesize that the dysfunction of these corneal afferents and the lacrimation reflex pathway they activate lead to some forms of dry eye disease.