The effects of amyloid‐beta—a peptide found in the plaques observed in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients—were studied in the HT22 hippocampal neuronal cell line and in mitochondria isolated from these cells; the cells and mitochondria were incubated in the presence or absence of (a) exogenous Aβ 1–42 (human amyloid beta peptide) and (b) an NF‐kB inhibitor (BAY11‐7082), and mitochondrial function was evaluated. Here, NFKB1 is linked to early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease.