This dataset contains the following: video recordings of animal behaviors, RNA-seq analysis, in vitro recordings, and fiber photometry recordings for a study on the regulation by the posterior amygdala (PA) of sexual and aggressive behaviors in male mice.

The video recordings are of all animal behaviors from two synchronized cameras on the side and top of the cage with frame by frame behavioral annotation and tracking using custom MATLAB software (https://pdollar.github.io/toolbox/). For all experiments, adult male Esr1-2A-cre mice were used. For pharmacogenetic activation, HSV-hEf1α-LS1L-Flp was injected into the MPN or VMHvl and AAV-Ef1α-fDIO-hM3Dq-mCherry was injected into the PA. Naive males were used and a non-receptive female and then a non-aggressive BALB/c male mouse were introduced to the home cage of the test mouse. For pharmacogenetic inactivation, HSV-hEf1α-LS1L-Flp was injected into the MPN or VMHvl and AAV-Ef1α-fDIO-hM4Di-mCherry was injected into the PA. The test mice first encountered a receptive female C57BL/6N mouse, and then a non-aggressive BALB/c male mouse. For both activation and inactivation experiments, animals received intraperitoneal injections of either saline or clozapine-N-oxide (CNO).

The fiber photometric recording are from male Esr1-2A-cre mice for which HSV-hEf1α-LS1L-GCaMP6f was injected into the MPN or VMHvl and an optic fiber was implanted above the posterior amygdala. Behavioral video recordings were made for these mice for which a sexually receptive female C57BL/6N mouse was placed in the home cage of the test male mouse until the resident reached ejaculation. Following this, a non-aggressive male BALB/c or C57BL/6N mouse was placed in the home cage.

The dataset for the in vitro whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings consists of recordings from the MPN or VMHvl in acute coronal brain slices from Esr1-2A-cre male adult mice. These recordings were made three weeks after the injection of AAV2-Ef1α-DIO-ChR2-EYFP into the PA and, simultaneously, injection of AAV2-hSyn-DIO-mCherry into the MPN or VMHvl. During recordings, PA terminals were stimulated using 0.5-ms blue-light pulses.

The transcriptional profiles of posterior amygdala in male C57BL/6N mice are from RNA-seq analysis of MPN- and VMHvl-projecting neurons in posterior amygdala that were microdissected by laser capture microdissection.