Using a new, self-paced action timing task in mice, we found that deprivation of auditory, but not somatosensory or visual input, disrupts learned action timing. The behavioral mechanism and neural circuit for action timing, however, remain largely unknown. The ability to accurately determine when to perform an action is a fundamental brain function and vital to adaptive behavior. 8 NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China. 7 Center for Motor Control and Disease, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. 6 Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.5 Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.4 Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.3 Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.2 Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.1 Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Secondary auditory cortex function