One neurological disorder reinforces these findings. Stroke damage to part of the SMA produces “anarchic hand syndrome,” where the hand controlled by that side of the SMA[*] acts against the person’s will (e.g., grabbing food from someone else’s plate); sufferers even restrain their anarchic hand with their other one.[*] This suggests that the SMA keeps volition on task, binding “intention to action,” all before the person believes they’ve formed that intention.[9]
