ImageJ in computational fractal-based neuroscience: Pattern extraction and translational research

To explore questions asked in neuroscience, neuroscientists rely heavily on
the tools available. One such toolset is Image], open-source, free, biological digital image analysis software. Open-source software has matured alongside of fractal analysis in neuroscience, and today Image] is not a niche but a foundation relied on by a substantial number of neuroscientists for work in diverse fields including fractal analysis. This is largely owing to two features of open-source software leveraged in Image] and vital to vigorous neuroscience: customizability and collaboration. With those notions in mind, this chapter's aim is threefold: (1) it introduces Image], (2) it outlines ways this software tool has influenced fractal analysis in neuroscience and shaped the questions researchers devote time to, and (3) it reviews a few examples of ways investigators have developed and used Image] for pattern extraction in fractal analysis. Throughout this chapter, the focus is on fostering a collaborative and creative mindset for translating knowledge of the fractal geometry of the brain into clinical reality.