The two shots of Wilson at the end, shown from House's perspective when he's in the elevator, use the same filter that was used throughout the episode for the shots from the patient's perspective, indicating that House is locked in his own self-inflicted social and emotional prison.
The M*A*S*H (1972) episode Point of View (1978) was a likely inspiration for this episode; it also featured a patient unable to speak and was shown from his limited point of view.
House explains that he was in New York to buy a guitar that Duane Allman used. Allman died in a motorcycle accident (the same reason House was admitted) in 1971.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955): Breakdown has a similar premise: a motorist has an accident that renders him completely paralyzed, but still aware of everything around him.
At the beginning, House says, "His doctor is too busy teaching him how to blink out 'kill me' in Morse code," referring to the movie "Johnny Got His Gun," which was made famous by the music video for Metallica's song "One."