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).