Class 1 — comparison figures
Every graph, plot, brain map and results table in the Class 1 reference set that shows meditation contrasted against rest/control, or one meditation contrasted against another.
107 items (79 figures, 28 results tables) from 29 papers, screened from the 97 PDFs in the Class 1 drive folder.
Ameditation vs rest/control Bone meditation vs another A+Bboth borderlineshows the comparison only weakly tableresults table, not a graph
Click any image to enlarge; arrow keys move between them, Esc closes. This file is fully self-contained — all images are embedded, so it works offline and can be emailed as-is.
Screened and excluded, and known gaps
- No comparison figure: theory/definitional papers (Dahl 2015, Lindsay & Creswell 2017, Shapiro 2006, Sparby & Sacchet 2025, Ehmann 2025, Laukkonen 2023, Sacchet & Brewer 2024, Lord 2024, Kabat-Zinn 2011/1994); prevalence and survey work (Davies 2024, Wright 2024, Lam 2023, Barnes 2016, Hunt 2020); correlational-only studies (Ruffault 2016, Carmody & Baer 2008); non-meditation sources (Ericsson 1993/2019, Chambliss 1989, Bandura 1977, Deci & Ryan, Hattie & Timperley 2007, Keyes 2002, Boecker 2008, Fuss 2015, Kandola 2019, Schuch 2018, Thomas 2018, burnout-prevalence papers, trade press). Goleman & Davidson 2017 discusses many controlled findings in prose but reproduces no data figure.
- Donald et al. 2020 has no figures at all — the supplied PDF is a text-only preprint with
[INSERT FIGURE n ABOUT HERE]placeholders and zero embedded graphics across all 40 pages. Its forest and funnel plots (mindfulness vs control: intrinsic motivation d=0.54, identified d=0.20) need the typeset article. - Kriakous et al. 2021 — MBSR-in-healthcare review whose MBSR-vs-control evidence is a 15-page narrative table (pp. 6–20), too large to crop.
- kasamatsu-hirai-1966 fig20 — page 16 of that scan has no text layer, so the crop is the whole page; it holds both Fig. 19 (controls habituate) and Fig. 20 (Zen masters do not).
- Duplicates in the drive folder:
Anand_et_al_1961.pdfandChhina and Singh, 1960.pdfare byte-identical (same paper, two names) — extracted once, under Anand. Same for the two Chambliss files.#94 Desbordesis the author manuscript of the typeset Desbordes used here. - Rights: figures are reproduced from copyrighted articles for internal course development; clear reuse rights before publishing.
desbordes-2015-equanimity fig2is itself reproduced from Goldin & Gross (2010) and must be attributed there. - Images here are capped at 1500 px wide. Full-resolution crops and whole-page renders are in
module-1-prototype/class1-comparison-figures/.
A — Meditation vs rest / control · 17 papers, 66 items
ameli-2020-mbsc-healthcare-rct
Ameli, Sinaii, West, Luna, Panahi, Zoosman, Rusch & Berger (2020), JAMA Network Open 3(8):e2013424 — Effect of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Program on Stress in Health Care Professionals at a US Biomedical Research Hospital
82 randomised (78 analysed) NIH health care professionals: 5-session mindfulness-based self-care program (43) vs life-as-usual control (35); PSS-10, anxiety, burnout, affect, mindfulness at baseline, week 5, week 13
Means (SD) and change scores with 95% CIs for stress, anxiety, burnout, affect, mindfulness and self-care, MBSC vs control
anand-1961-yogi-eeg
Anand, Chhina & Singh (1961), Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 13:452-456 — Some Aspects of Electroencephalographic Studies in Yogis
4 Yogis practising samadhi + 2 with self-induced raised pain threshold; scalp EEG and stimulus-evoked alpha-blocking, before vs during meditation (within-subject)
Before/during meditation EEG trace pair for one Yogi
Single-condition EEG trace during meditation
Paired EEG traces showing stimulus-evoked alpha blocking before vs during meditation — the strongest figure in this paper
Before-experiment vs during-cold-water-immersion EEG trace pair
bashir-2025-LKM-review
Bashir, Edstrom, Barlow, Gainer & Lewis (2025), Brain and Behavior 15:e70372 — Loving-Kindness Meditation: Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Correlates in Long-Term Practitioners and Clinical Implications
Systematic review of 5 controlled neuroimaging/EEG studies (64 long-term LKM practitioners vs 67 non-meditator controls); cortical thickness, fMRI activation, ERP amplitude
Cross-study table of practitioner-vs-control differences in cortical thickness, fMRI activation and P300 amplitude for each of the 5 studies
Condensed table of four brain regions with the practitioner-vs-control finding and direction for each
benson-1975-relaxation-response
Benson, with Klipper (1975), The Relaxation Response, William Morrow & Co
Trade book reproducing the author's original physiological data from Transcendental Meditation studies: oxygen consumption and blood lactate before/during meditation, and the Relaxation Response vs sleep
Oxygen-consumption / metabolic-rate chart, before vs during vs after meditation
Line graph of percent change in O2 consumption over hours, Relaxation Response vs sleep
Blood-lactate level chart, before vs during meditation
desbordes-2015-equanimity
Desbordes, Gard, Hoge, Holzel, Kerr, Lazar, Olendzki & Vago (2015), Mindfulness 6(2):356-372 — Moving Beyond Mindfulness: Defining Equanimity as an Outcome Measure in Meditation and Contemplative Research
Narrative/theoretical review (no original data); reproduces one primary-study data figure
Amygdala BOLD time course, pre vs post 8-week MBSR
engen-2018-socioaffective-structure
Engen, Bernhardt, Skottnik, Ricard & Singer (2018), Neuropsychologia 116:26-33 — Structural changes in socio-affective networks: Multi-modal MRI findings in long-term meditation practitioners
17 long-term loving-kindness/compassion meditators (~40,000 h) vs 15 matched meditation-naive controls; cortical thickness + fMRI amplitude during LKM vs non-meditative rest
Cortical surface maps of regions thicker in LTMs vs meditation-naive controls
Cortical surface map of group x state (meditation vs rest) interaction in fMRI amplitude
Cortical surface map of spatial overlap between the Fig 1 and Fig 2 effects
fredrickson-2008-LKM-resources
Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek & Finkel (2008), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95(5):1045-62 — Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources
139 working adults assigned to a 7-week loving-kindness meditation workshop (67) or waitlist control (72); daily emotion reports over 9 weeks plus pre/post personal resources
Line graph of composite positive emotion across the 9 study weeks, LKM vs waitlist control
Regression table (condition, week, condition x week) for each of 9 discrete positive emotions
Regression table including an experimental-condition coefficient predicting composite positive emotion
ghista-1979-meditative-state-eeg
Ghista, Nandagopal, Mukherji, Srinivasan, Ramamurthi & Das, Medical and Biological Engineering 14:209-214 — Physiological characterisation of the meditative state during intuitional practice (Ananda Marga) and its therapeutic value
4 meditators (3 Ananda Marga intuitional practice + 1 Hatha Yoga/Pranayama) plus 1 non-meditating control doing mere 'concentration'; EEG frequency-band histograms and venous blood metabolites before/during/after
Bar histogram of EEG wave-frequency distribution: normal vs meditation vs post-meditation
Same histogram style for a second, expert i.p. practitioner
Same histogram style for the Pranayama/Hatha Yoga practitioner
Control (non-meditator) histogram — the explicit null-result comparison arm
Beginner subject's alpha amplitude, naive baseline vs one week later during/after i.p.
Cumulative-frequency line plot, normal vs during meditation
Plot of glucose/lactate/pyruvate levels, before vs during meditation
Chi-squared significance table for two meditators and the non-meditator control
irving-2009-mbsr-hcp-review
Irving, Dobkin & Park (2009), Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 15:61-66 — Cultivating mindfulness in health care professionals: A review of empirical studies of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
Narrative review of 10 quantitative MBSR studies in healthcare professionals/trainees, several RCTs vs waitlist or active comparison (e.g. Jain 2007 three-arm vs relaxation and waitlist)
Per-study table of n, design, MBSR vs control group sizes, outcome measures and findings for 10 studies
kasamatsu-hirai-1966-zazen-eeg
Kasamatsu & Hirai (1966), Folia Psychiatrica et Neurologica Japonica 20(4):315-336 — An Electroencephalographic Study on the Zen Meditation (Zazen)
48 Zen priests/disciples across 3 experience tiers vs 22 non-meditating controls; scalp EEG alpha/theta and click-evoked alpha-blocking habituation before, during and after zazen
Zen master's baseline EEG trace prior to meditation onset
Same subject's EEG shortly after meditation onset
EEG trace later in the same meditation session
EEG trace showing alpha-frequency slowing later in meditation
EEG trace showing theta-train onset in late-stage meditation
Post-meditation EEG trace showing persisting alpha
Control subject's EEG over the same recording period, showing no zazen-like change
Second control subject's EEG, no change
Third control subject's EEG, no change
Second meditator's EEG replicating the theta-train finding
Third meditator's EEG with click-evoked blocking during meditation
Paired EEG traces (Zen priest vs resting control) showing blocking response to repeated clicks — the clearest single-figure comparison in the paper
Graph of alpha-blocking duration vs click number for 4 controls (rapid habituation)
Graph of alpha-blocking duration vs click number for Zen masters (no habituation)
lebares-2019-mindful-surgeon
Lebares, Guvva, Olaru, Sugrue, Staffaroni, Delucchi, Kramer, Ascher & Harris (2019), JAMA Network Open 2(5):e194108 — Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Training in Surgery: Additional Analysis of the Mindful Surgeon Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
21 PGY-1 surgery residents randomised to 8-week modified MBSR (12) vs structurally matched active control (9); perceived stress, executive function, motor skills and fMRI emotion regulation at baseline, 3.5 and 12 months
Panels A-C are group z-statistical fMRI activation maps contrasting modMBSR vs control at baseline and post-training (panel D is a task-timing schematic)
Means (SD) and ANCOVA-adjusted change scores at 3 timepoints for stress, mindfulness, resilience, grit, burnout, depression, executive function and motor skill, modMBSR vs control
Continuation rows of the modMBSR-vs-control outcome table
leung-2013-LKM-gray-matter
Leung, Chan, Yin, Lee, So & Lee (2013), Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 8:34-39 — Increased gray matter volume in the right angular and posterior parahippocampal gyri in loving-kindness meditators
VBM of 25 men: 10 loving-kindness meditation experts (5+ yr) vs 15 matched meditation-naive novices; whole-brain gray matter volume
Structural MRI overlay + glass-brain maps of gray-matter differences, LKM experts vs novices
Peak MNI coordinates, corrected p-values, t-values and cluster sizes for experts>novices
lutz-2004-gamma-synchrony
Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard & Davidson (2004), PNAS 101(46):16369-73 — Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice
8 long-term Tibetan Buddhist practitioners (9k-52k h) vs 10 novice controls; EEG gamma power & long-distance phase synchrony, baseline vs compassion meditation
One practitioner's raw EEG + gamma power/synchrony time course across the transition from baseline into meditation
Per-subject and per-electrode gamma:slow ratio, practitioners vs controls at baseline and baseline vs meditative state
Scalp topographic maps + plots contrasting practitioners vs controls on gamma power and synchrony change from neutral to meditative state
penque-2019-nurses-mbsr
Penque (2019), Nursing Management 50(5):38-44 — Mindfulness to promote nurses' well-being
Single-group pre/post quasi-experiment: 61 nurses in a hospital MBSR program; mindfulness, self-compassion, empathy, serenity and burnout before vs after training (no control group)
Pre vs post-MBSR means (SD) and p-values
Pre vs post-MBSR means (SD)/p-values for personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization
slagter-2007-attentional-blink
Slagter, Lutz, Greischar, Francis, Nieuwenhuis, Davis & Davidson (2007), PLoS Biology 5(6):e138 — Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources
17 practitioners pre/post 3-month intensive Vipassana retreat vs 23 novice controls; attentional-blink accuracy and T1-elicited P3b amplitude
Bar chart + line graph of T2 detection accuracy by session and interval, practitioners vs novices
ERP waveforms (P3b) at Pz, novices vs practitioners, time 1 vs time 2
Scatterplot correlating change in P3b amplitude with change in T2 accuracy across individuals
ERP waveforms + scalp topographies comparing novices vs practitioners on P3b change across three trial types
F/p table for the Interval x Group x Session ANOVA on T2 detection accuracy
weng-2018-compassion-vs-reappraisal
Weng, Lapate, Stodola, Rogers & Davidson (2018), Frontiers in Psychology 9:771 — Visual Attention to Suffering After Compassion Training Is Associated With Decreased Amygdala Responses
56 adults randomised to 2 weeks of compassion meditation vs reappraisal training (active control); n=24 with usable pre/post fMRI + eye-tracking while viewing suffering vs non-suffering images
ROI map + relationship plot of amygdala signal change vs looking-time change, compassion vs reappraisal groups
Whole-brain activation map contrasting compassion vs reappraisal training groups
Bar graph of percent looking time for suffering vs non-suffering images, compassion vs reappraisal groups
zanesco-2021-microstates
Zanesco, Skwara, King, Powers, Wineberg & Saron (2021), Human Brain Mapping 42(10):3228-52 — Meditation training modulates brain electric microstates and felt states of awareness
59 experienced meditators randomised to 3-month full-time shamatha retreat (n=30) vs wait-list control (n=29), with crossover replication; resting EEG microstate parameters and daily felt-state ratings
Line plot of daily attentiveness/serenity/practice-quality ratings, training vs wait-list control
Same plot for the crossover: the same individuals' training phase vs their own earlier control phase
Point/box plot with 95% CIs and individual subject dots, training vs control by assessment
Scatterplots of brain-measure change vs experience-measure change, training (black) vs control (gray)
Per-participant microstate 'barcode' plot faceted by group and assessment
Dissimilarity matrices and representative medoid sequences by group and assessment
Means/SDs of microstate GEV, GFP, duration and occurrence rate by group across pre/mid/post
Mixed-model coefficients formally testing the training-vs-wait-list difference
B — One meditation vs another meditation · 3 papers, 9 items
omalley-2024-resource-modules
O'Malley, Linz, Engert & Singer (2024), Stress 27(1):2345906 — Testing the monitor and acceptance theory: the role of training-induced changes in monitoring- and acceptance-related capacities after attention-based, socio-emotional, or socio-cognitive mental training in reducing cortisol stress reactivity
183 ReSource Project adults completed 3-month Presence (breathing/body scan), Affect (loving-kindness + dyad) or Perspective (observing-thoughts + dyad) training; trait change x module interaction on TSST cortisol reactivity
Scatter plot with separate fitted simple-slope lines per training module (Presence/Affect/Perspective)
Same plot design as Fig 3, comparing regression slopes across the three training modules for the FMI Presence subscale
singer-2016-resource-project
Singer, Kok, Bornemann, Zurborg, Bolz & Bochow (2016), The ReSource Project: Background, Design, Samples, and Measurements (2nd ed.), Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Study-protocol monograph for the ReSource mental-training project; contains process/compliance data comparing the three training modules (Presence, Affect, Perspective) across three training cohorts
Weekly practice frequency of the 6 core exercises (2 per module) across cohorts TC1/TC2 over the training timeline
Practice frequency of Loving-kindness Meditation vs Affect Dyad (the two Affect-module techniques)
Practice frequency of all 6 meditation/dyad exercises compared across the three cohorts
Self-reported change in 9 lifestyle domains compared across Presence / Affect / Perspective modules
Preference/enjoyment/ease-of-integration ratings compared across the 3 modules and their core exercises
sparby-2024-jhana-classification
Sparby & Sacchet (2024), Mindfulness 15:1375-94 — Toward a Unified Account of Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation: A Systematic Definition and Classification of Jhana
Conceptual synthesis of 8 published jhana manuals (no human participants); models contrasting jhana stages and jhana types
Model of piti/effortless-focus/sukha/equanimity intensity across pre-jhana and jhanas 1-4
Comparison of light vs intermediate vs deep jhana across ~10 experiential dimensions for jhana 1 and jhana 4
AB — Both — meditation vs control AND meditation vs meditation · 9 papers, 32 items
condon-2013-compassionate-responding
Condon, Desbordes, Miller & DeSteno (2013), Psychological Science 24(10):2125-27 — Meditation increases compassionate responses to suffering
39 adults randomised to an 8-week meditation course (further randomised to mindfulness or compassion protocol) or waitlist control; staged real-world helping behaviour
2x2 observed/expected count table of help vs no-help for meditation training vs waiting-list control
demir-2025-jhana-gradients
Demir, Yang & Sacchet (2025), Cerebral Cortex 35:bhaf079 — Advanced concentrative absorption meditation reorganizes functional connectivity gradients of the brain: 7T MRI and phenomenology case study of jhana meditation
Intensive single-case 7T fMRI (27 runs/state) of one expert jhana meditator; six absorption states (ACAM-J1 to J6-8) vs two active non-meditative control tasks (counting, memory) and against each other
Line/point plot of mean principal-gradient value by condition (6 jhana states + 2 controls)
Brain maps + radar/spider plots of gradient values by jhana state vs each control, with significance markers
Same design as Fig 1, for the secondary gradient
Brain maps + spider plots, secondary gradient, jhana states vs both controls
Brain-surface map of regions with significant trends across the jhana states (no control shown)
Brain-surface trend map across jhana states, no control shown
engert-2017-resource-cortisol
Engert, Kok, Papassotiriou, Chrousos & Singer (2017), Science Advances 3(10):e1700495 — Specific reduction in cortisol stress reactivity after social but not attention-based mental training
313 ReSource Project adults tested on the Trier Social Stress Test after no training, 3-month attention-based Presence, 3-month compassion-based Affect, 6-month Presence+Affect, or 6-month Presence+Perspective; multimethod stress markers
Panel C is a line graph of raw cortisol over time for all 5 groups; panels A-B are design schematics
7-panel line graphs of modelled stress-marker trajectories across the no-training group and 4 training-module groups
Scatter plots of self-report vs cortisol reactivity, no-training vs training groups
Full pairwise t-value/Cohen's d matrix contrasting every group against every other (No Training, Presence, Affect, Presence/Affect, Presence/Perspective)
F-test table for the Group factor on STAI and cortisol
lee-2012-FA-vs-LKM
Lee, Leung, Hou, Tang, Yin, So, Lee & Chan (2012), PLoS ONE 7(8):e40054 — Distinct Neural Activity Associated with Focused-Attention Meditation and Loving-Kindness Meditation
22 expert meditators (11 focused-attention, 11 loving-kindness) + 22 matched novices; fMRI during attention (CPT) and emotion (EPT) tasks in meditation vs baseline state
Brain activation maps of meditation-vs-baseline x expert-vs-novice interactions, shown separately for FA and LKM — enables direct comparison of the two meditation types
ROI plot of percent BOLD signal change (right thalamus, MTG, precuneus) by group x meditation/baseline state
Means/SDs of CPT performance and self-reported affect during meditation vs baseline, FA and LKM experts vs novices side by side
Coordinates/F/t values/cluster sizes for state x group interactions, listed separately for FA and LKM
lindsay-2018-acceptance-stress
Lindsay, Young, Smyth, Brown & Creswell (2018), Psychoneuroendocrinology 87:63-73 — Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial
153 stressed adults randomised to 3-arm 2-week smartphone dismantling trial: Monitor+Accept (58) vs Monitor Only (58) vs active Coping control (37); cortisol, blood pressure and subjective stress reactivity to a modified TSST
Line graph (+/-SEM) of salivary cortisol across the mTSST timeline for Monitor+Accept vs Monitor Only vs Control
Two-panel line graph (+/-SEM) of SBP and DBP across the mTSST timeline by condition
Means [95% CI] for cortisol AUC-I, cortisol at 25/35/60 min, systolic/diastolic BP and subjective stress by condition
lindsay-2018-positive-emotions
Lindsay, Chin, Greco, Young, Brown, Wright, Smyth, Burkett & Creswell (2018), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 115(6):944-973 — How mindfulness training promotes positive emotions: Dismantling acceptance skills training in two randomized controlled trials
Two 3-arm dismantling RCTs: Study 1 N=137, 8-week Monitor+Accept vs Monitor Only vs no-treatment; Study 2 N=153, 2-week smartphone Monitor+Accept vs Monitor Only vs active Coping control; diary and EMA affect
Pre/post plot of diary positive affect means by condition for both studies
Forest plot of effect sizes for Monitor+Accept vs Monitor Only and vs control/no-treatment on positive and negative affect, both studies
Regression table with explicit MA-vs-MO and MA-vs-control coefficients (and Condition x Time) for diary affect
Pre/post means (SE) and within-condition Cohen's d for each arm
lindsay-2019-loneliness
Lindsay, Young, Brown, Smyth & Creswell (2019), PNAS 116(9):3488-93 — Mindfulness training reduces loneliness and increases social contact in a randomized controlled trial
153 stressed adults, 3-arm 14-lesson smartphone dismantling trial: Monitor+Accept (58) vs Monitor Only (58) vs active Coping control (37); EMA/diary loneliness and social contact
Plot of diary loneliness pre/post by Monitor+Accept / Monitor Only / Control
Plot of EMA social interaction frequency pre/post by condition
Pre/post means (SE) and Cohen's d for diary loneliness, social interactions and interaction partners by condition
ruffault-2017-meta-analysis
Ruffault, Czernichow, Hagger, Ferrand, Erichot, Carette, Boujut & Flahault (2017), Obesity Research & Clinical Practice — The effects of mindfulness training on weight-loss and health-related behaviours in adults with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Meta-analysis of 12 RCTs (626 participants; 315 intervention / 311 control) of mindfulness training vs waitlist/treatment-as-usual/information-only on BMI, impulsive eating, binge eating and physical activity
Forest plot of mean difference in BMI, mindfulness training vs control, across the included RCTs
Cohen's d (intervention vs control) for impulsive eating, binge eating, physical activity and mindfulness skills, broken out by moderator including type of intervention
Meta-regression estimates using type of intervention (non-behavioral vs behavioral) as a predictor of BMI and binge-eating effect sizes
schoenberg-2018-unified-compassionate-awareness
Schoenberg, Ruf, Churchill, Brown & Brewer (2018), Consciousness and Cognition 57:41-53 — Mapping complex mind states: EEG neural substrates of meditative unified compassionate awareness
29 advanced Indo-Tibetan essence-of-mind meditators; EEG/LORETA current density during eyes-open/eyes-closed resting baseline vs four sequential meditative states (S1-S4), and the four states against each other
Graph of gamma-2 current density across baseline (eyes open, eyes closed) and meditative States 1-4 within ACC
Mean (SD) current density for baseline (EO/EC) vs State 1 vs State 4 across ROIs and frequency bands
Friedman Q/p values comparing resting baseline vs meditation State 1 across ROIs and bands