Communicating with the nearly dead

From the Guardian, I see that scientists have been able to establish communication with a supposedly brain dead patient.

It's good news for this guy, and I hope it helps other people, but a few thoughts occur.

First off, previous discussion of such communications through twitches or hand squeezes are fraught with suggestions of carers/assistants either consciously or unconsciously providing the stimulus themselves - is this just a high tech equivalent? I'm not a scientist but I wonder...

Secondly, how wierd would that be? If you were lying there, could you even trust the voices? What choice do you have, of course - the answer to solipsists everywhere - but still, if it were me I'd be thinking, trapped there in my cage - is this for real? Or is my mind just playing more tricks?