It should be noticed that describing the causation of reversible dementia is extremely difficult due to the complicated biopsychological systems and the hard-to-define collection of factors associated with cognitive decline.

Roughly, the etiological factors that contribute to cognitive decline could be assigned into four categories: chemical, environmental, physical, and psychiatric. Chemical intoxication might be attributed to anesthesia, alcohol, heavy metal and commonly used medications. Jenike (1988) has recorded a certain amount of medications which may induce cognitive change in elder people.

The list is provided below.

Environmental sources include overstimulation, radical changes in lifestyle, and sensory impairment. Physical disorders which are mostly induced by the aging process, consist of thyroid and other endocrine-system deprivation; metabolic disturbance, and vitamin deficiency. Psychiatric disorders, such as chronic schizophrenia and depression could also produce cognitive decline.

In summary, the etiological factors of reversible dementia are various, subtle and frequently interactive. Therefore, in-depth medical and psychosocial evaluations are vital for accurate diagnosis and treatment design. It is important for families and patients to understand the difficulties in determining an correct diagnosis and be prepared for probable frustration and confusion during evaluation and assessment process.

Pseudosenility also reversible dementia is a condition where older people are in a state of memory loss, confusion, or disorientation that may have a cause other than the ordinary aging process. Generally, the term "reversible dementia" is used to describe most cases. A more specific term "Pseudodementia" is referring to "behavioral changes that resembler those of the progressive degenerative dementias, but which are attributable to so-called functional causes".

The "New York Times" reports that illnesses such as the flu and hydrocephalus, as well as side-effects to common medications, can produce symptoms in the elderly that are difficult to distinguish from ordinary dementia caused by aging. However, if the real cause of the effects is caught early enough, the effects can be reversed. According to studies cited in Cunha (1990), approximate 10% to 30% of patients who have exhibited symptoms of dementia might have a treatable or reversible pathologic process to some extent.