Auditory signal-cued behaviors rely on a sophisticated neural network. While extensive research has focused on auditory processing and decision-making, the neural circuits governing motor coordination for goal-directed actions remain poorly understood. The red nucleus (RN) is essential for motor coordination, whereas the zona incerta (ZI) plays a key role in modulating sensorimotor circuits. Using tetrode recordings and optogenetics, we investigated the ZI-RN circuit's role in an auditory-cued decision task. RN neurons were preferentially activated when mice moved to the contralateral port for a reward, and optogenetic activation biased choices toward the contralateral side. Notably, parvalbumin-positive ZI neurons projected to the RN and negatively regulated movement coordination. These findings reveal an inhibitory ZI-RN circuit that shapes auditory-cued, goal-directed movement. The red nucleus in the ventral midbrain controls motor and non-motor behaviors and is important for goal-directed movements, but is it also involved in movements cued by sound? This study reveals that inhibitory projections from the zona incerta to the red nucleus modulate movements cued by auditory signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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