Discovery mr750 3.0 t system

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed during the periovulatory phase (days 12–16 of the menstrual cycle). All patients with MMoA were migraine-free for at least 72 h at the time of the MRI scan. MRI data were acquired using a GE Discovery MR750 3.0 T system with an eight-channel, phased-array head coil (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, United States). The functional images were obtained with a single-shot gradient-echo echoplanar imaging sequence with the following parameters: repetition time = 2,000 ms; echo time = 25 ms; flip angle = 90°, field of view = 240 mm × 240 mm, data matrix = 64 × 64, slice thickness = 3 mm, and voxel-size = 3.44 mm × 3.44 mm × 4 mm. During the whole functional scan, all participants were instructed to keep their eyes closed and stay awake during the entire session.

Information collected included age, height, and weight. All patients were required to keep a migraine diary to record visual analogue scale (VAS) scores (scale of 0–10, with 10 being the most intense pain imaginable), migraine attack frequency (number of times), and duration of migraine attack (h). The Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) questionnaire was adopted to assess the impact of migraine on the lives of the patients (Shin et al. 2008 (link)), and the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ), a 14-item health-related quality of life questionnaire, was used to measure three dimensions of functional status specific to migraine (using preventive, restrictive, and emotional functional subscales)(Bagley et al. 2012 (link)).
MRI data were acquired with a GE Discovery MR750 3.0 T system with an eight-channel, phased-array head coil (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI, USA). The functional images were obtained with a single-shot gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (GRE-EPI) sequence with the following parameters: repetition time = 2000 ms; echo time = 25 ms; flip angle = 90°, field of view = 240 × 240 mm, data matrix = 64 × 64, slice thickness = 3 mm. During the whole functional scan, all participants were instructed to keep their eyes closed and stay awake during the entire session.

Imaging was performed on a GE Discovery MR750 3.0 T System with an 8-channel phased array head coil. Subjects were scanned in a supine, head-first position with symmetrically placed cushions on both sides of the head to decrease motion. Before the scanning, each participant was repeatedly instructed to relax with their eyes closed without falling asleep; after the experiment, only participants who confirmed that they had not fallen asleep were included; otherwise, he/she was excluded.
The rs-fMRI data were acquired using gradient-echo echo-planar imaging sequence with the following parameters: time repetition (TR)/time echo (TE) = 2,000/25 ms, flip angle = 90°, voxel size = 3.75 × 3.75 × 3 mm3, field of view (FOV) = 240 × 240 mm, matrix = 64 × 64, slice thickness/gap = 3.0/1.0 mm, 35 axial slices covering the whole-brain, and 210 volumes acquired in 7 min. In addition, a three-dimensional brain volume imaging (3D-BRAVO) sequence covering the whole brain was used for structural data acquisition with: TR/TE = 8.2/3.2 ms, flip angle = 12°, bandwidth = 31.25 Hz, slice thickness/gap = 1.0/0 mm matrix = 256 × 256, FOV = 240 × 240 mm, NEX = 1, and acquisition time = 3 min 45 s. Routine MRI examination images were also collected for excluding anatomic abnormality. All participants were found by two experienced radiologists to confirm no brain structural abnormalities.

All MRI data were collected on a GE Discovery MR750 3.0T System equipped with an eight-channel head coil at the radiology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University. Foam pads were used to restrict head movement, and earplugs were used to minimize scanner noise. First, conventional T1-weighted images and T2-weighted images were collected to observe brain lesions. Resting-state functional images were acquired using a gradient-recalled echo-planar imaging sequence. The sequence parameters were as follows: repetition time = 2,100 ms, echo time = 30 ms, thickness = 3.0 mm, gap = 0.6 mm, voxel size = 3.125 × 3.125 × 3.6 mm3, flip angle = 90°, matrix = 64 × 64, number of volumes = 160, number of slices = 42. Finally, high-resolution T1-weighted brain structural magnetic resonance images were obtained using a three-dimensional (3D) brain volume imaging (3D-BRAVO) sequence (repetition time = 4,500 ms, echo time = 3.22 ms, thickness = 1.0 mm, gap = 0.5 mm, field of view = 240 mm × 240 mm, flip angle = 15°, voxel size = 0.47 × 0.47 × 1.0 mm3, slices = 164).

Scans were acquired on a GE Discovery MR750 3.0 T system. Pre and post scan sections consisted of (1) a high-resolution anatomical scan (MPRAGE, resolution = 1mm³, 208 slices, FOV = 25.6 cm, TR = 2500 ms, TE = 2.92 ms, FA = 8 deg), (2) resting-state BOLD fMRI scans, and (3) arterial spin labeling (ASL) scans (2D pseudo-continuous ASL (PCASL), single-shot spiral, 100 repetitions, resolution = 3.75 mm × 3.75 mm, slice thickness = 6 mm, matrix size = 64 × 64 × 24, FOV = 24 cm, TE = 3.2 ms, TR = 4300 ms, labeling duration = 1800 ms and post-labeling delay = 1800 ms)^{28 (link)}. Only the anatomical and ASL scans are analyzed here. The resting-state BOLD scans will be analyzed in a separate paper. During all ASL scans, subjects rested with their eyes open and gently focused on a fixation point.