01 | Keeping balance at sea and ashore: investigating habituation-adaptation dynamics in postural control among seafarers and healthy adults

Pescaglia F¹, Guerrini L^1,2, Gelormini C¹, Maruotto I¹, Recenti M¹, Petersen H³, Jónsson H¹, Gargiulo P^1,4 | ¹Institute of Biomedical and Neural Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland; ²Department of Engineering, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Aversa, Italy; ³Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland – Akureyri Hospital, Akureyri, Iceland; ⁴Department of Science, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland

Postural control (PC) is a key function governed by adaptation and habituation mechanisms.¹ The BioVRSea paradigm, a novel virtual reality approach, allows a thorough evaluation of PC by combining visual and motor perturbations with simultaneous recordings of electromyographic activity and center of pressure.² This study contrasts PC responses in sailors, recently exposed to extended maritime conditions, with those of a healthy control group. Sailors exhibited greater variability and complexity in postural sway, together with distinctive neuromuscular activation patterns, reflecting functional adjustments to unstable environments. These findings highlight how prolonged sea exposure reshapes balance regulation: sailors showed pronounced differences in both habituation and adaptation phases, characterized by enhanced sway dynamics and a burst-like Soleus activation strategy,³ suggesting more efficient motor responses to instability.

Ethics statement:
All participants received detailed written information about the study and provided their signed informed consent. The research was conducted in accordance with the principles embodied in the Declaration of Helsinki and Icelandic statutory requirements. The study protocol was approved by the Icelandic National Bioethics Committee (no: VSN-20–101).