1. A fuzzy neuron for serial processing of data relating to pixels in an input pattern, comprising; storage means including an image memory for storing pixel pattern data corresponding to a pattern to be recognized, and a membership function memory for storing (a) a membership function value related to selected pixels in an input pattern, (b) the pattern addresses of each of a plurality of pixels of input pattern data in which said membership function value is defined, and (c) a membership function identifier to which said membership function values belong in a set stored in the membership function memory; and means for processing the membership function values to determine the probability of a match between the input pattern and the pattern to be recognized.