This study characterized the effects of fluid percussion brain injury (FPI) on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced vasodilation and determined the role of nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOC/oFQ) in such changes as a function of age and time postinsult. FPI elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NOC/oFQ from 70 ± 3 to 444 ± 56 pg/ml (10¹⁰ M) within 1 h and to 1,931 ± 112 pg/ml within 8 h, whereas values returned to control levels within 168 h in the newborn pig. In contrast, FPI elevated CSF NOC/oFQ from 77 ± 4 to 202 ± 16 pg/ml within 1 h and values returned to control levels within 8 h in the juvenile pig. Topical NOC/oFQ (10¹⁰ M) had no effect on pial artery diameter but attenuated NMDA (10⁸, 10⁶ M)-induced dilation (9 ± 1 and 16 ± 1 vs. 5 ± 1 and 10 ± 1%) in both age groups. In the newborn, NMDA-induced pial artery dilation was reversed to vasoconstriction within 1 h post-FPI and responses remained impaired for 72 h, but such vasoconstriction was attenuated by pretreatment with [F/G]NOC/oFQ(1-13)-NH₂ (10⁶ M, 1 mg/kg iv), an NOC/oFQ antagonist (9 ± 1 and 16 ± 1 vs. 7 ± 1 and 12 ± 1 vs 2 ± 1 and 3 ± 1% for control, FPI, and FPI pretreated with the NOC/oFQ antagonist). In contrast, in the juvenile, NMDA-induced vasodilation was only attenuated within 1 h post-FPI and returned to control within 8 h. Such dilation was also partially restored by the NOC/oFQ antagonist. These data indicate that NOC/oFQ contributes to impaired NMDA pial artery dilation after FPI. These data suggest that the greater NOC/oFQ release in the newborn versus the juvenile may contribute to age-related differences in FPI effects on excitatory amino acid-induced pial dilation.