However, contrary to popular belief, many of our cognitive abilities only show significant changes during our advanced stages in life, generally when we past the age of 60. Scientists study changes during aging by various brain imaging techniques to observe the anatomy and physiology of the living brain. In looking at the brain from a macroscopic level, scientists have found that the ventricles (the spaces in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid) become enlarged. This is probably due to the death of the surrounding brain tissue. Moreover, the folds on the surface of the brain (sulci) also become larger.
