Sympathetic neurons isolated from the superior cervical ganglia (SCG) of embryonic rodents undergo apoptotic cell death in response to nerve growth factor deprivation. This study investigated how mature neurons are capable of avoiding cell death when deprived of trophic support can be studied in vitro using cultures of embryonic sympathetic neurons. They performed RNA sequencing experiments on sympathetic neurons grown under early and longer culture conditions to assess the changes from immature to mature sympathetic neurons. This dataset contains RNA sequencing data. The results indicate that resistance of neurons to trophic factor deprivation may be an important element in preventing neurodegeneration.