Physiological phase relations and their alterations by various neurological diseases between rhythmical forearm movements and breathing have been described previously. The catatonic disturbance is a failure in motor performance at the borderline between Neurology and Psychiatry, its relation to breathing is not yet investigated. Rhythmical spontaneous and sinusoidal tracking movements of the forearm with small amplitudes inside the frequency range of spontaneous breathing rates (0.2 -0.5 Hz) have been varied in steps of 0.1 Hz systematically. Breathing has been recorded in parallel using a respitrace setup, additionally at rest in three positions. Breathing parameters and phase relations between breathing and forearm movements and their statistical parameters were calculated. A group of 15 patients (a) suffering from catatonic schizophrenia has been compared with an age and sex-matched group of 15 healthy subjects (b). Breathing at rest in all positions was faster (p<0.01) and more irregular (p<0.01) in group a. Spontaneous voluntary movement tempo was slower in group a, while breathing rates during this movement was faster than in group b. In group a the frequency of stable coordination in a rate ratio of 1:1 was similar to that of the control group, but the main entrainment band shifted from 0.3 Hz to 0.4 Hz in the patients. We understand these findings as a suppression effect on motor drive signals accompanied by an increased internal vegetative stress in the catatonic patients.