Final answer:
Damage to the orbitofrontal cortex most likely leads to impairments in decision-making and emotional regulation. The orbitofrontal cortex is critical for processing emotions and social cues and for planning appropriate social behavior. Memory, motor skills, and visual perception are associated with different brain regions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Following removal of a benign tumor that caused damage to the orbitofrontal cortex, a patient is likely to show impairments in decision-making and emotional regulation. The orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in these higher-order cognitive processes. Damage to this area can lead to difficulties in making appropriate decisions, processing emotions, and can even result in personality changes. This kind of damage can also lead to poor judgment and problematic social behavior, as it may affect the ability to interpret social cues effectively.
Other brain regions, such as the temporal lobes, are more closely associated with functions like memory consolidation, which are highlighted by the studies of patient H.M. who suffered from a significant loss in the ability to form new declarative memories after having his hippocampi removed. Furthermore, the cerebellum and other areas of the cortex are involved in motor skills and balance, whereas the visual perception functions are primarily attributed to the occipital lobe and certain pathways associated with it, such as damage that might be caused by a pituitary tumor.