6 Conclusion
To the best knowledge of the authors, this study is the first to examine
the triple network model in comorbid depression and anxiety disorders
against depression alone. Using the well examined triple network model,
we were able to find a distinct set of alterations in RSFC within the
triple network, contributing to the search for a distinct neuropathology
of this highly prevalent patient population. The clusters found within
the cingulate and paracingulate and frontal areas may play an important
role in the specific symptomatology of comorbid MDD and AD, contributing
to the less favourable treatment outlook and higher impact on quality of
life. The present study therefore contributes to a better understanding
of this patient group, which is essential for targeted pharmacotherapy
and more effective interventions, as underlined by several studies
showing an effect of different types of psychotherapy on RSFC
alterations both in MDD (Dunlop et al., 2023; Katayama et al., 2023;
Pantazatos et al., 2020) and AD (Gonsalves et al., 2022; Yuan et al.,
2016).